Rebellion Zero
by KisekiMa
Summary: Obsessed with the desire to win the Holy Grail War, the Einzbern family collected many relics. When Kiritsugu Emiya summoned his Servant, more than one Heroic Soul answered the call from the castle. This is the alternative, rebellious timeline of the Fourth Holy Grail War, focused mostly on the Einzbern team.
1. 1: The Knight of the Sword

**Rebellion Zero**

* * *

 **1: The Knight of the Sword**

 _The little girl stared at the man._

 _The man stared at the little girl._

 _They stayed like this in silence for a long while, both equally surprised._

* * *

In the chapel of the Einzbern castle, Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel were about to start the summoning ritual. The man known as the Magus Killer was kneeling on the floor, checking the silver circle, applying the last changes in the pattern. His wife was standing right behind him, holding in her arms the greatest treasure of her family – Avalon, the scabbard of the most famous holy sword from the Western legends.

Their plan to summon the greastest known hero in the most powerful class container seemed simple, but Kiritsugu was worried anyway. How compatible he will be with the famous king of Albion? How to use his enormous power? Will his tactics be effective enough to win the war?

No, it was not a good moment for doubts. He must be concentrated on the ritual right now, show his power as a Master strong enough to bind the Knight of the Sword to his will. There was no turning back.

"Iri, place the relic on the altar," Emiya said and stood up, ready for the summoning. "Our preparations will be then complete."

Irisviel nodded and do what he asked. She stepped aside and froze in anticipation, when the circle began emitting a blinding, silver light.

* * *

Illyasviel's room was probably the cutest and warmest in the Einzbern castle, but it still seemed cold when you looked through the window. It was the night of the full moon, the silver light was too bright to sleep calmly under its touch. The winter wind was raging outside, making some annoying sounds, howling like a pack of hungry wolves.

Illya could not fall asleep. She kept rolling in her bed, trying to hide from the moonlight under a pillow. It didn't work, the same with hugging her favorite teddy bear. The girl gave up on trying and left her bedroom.

She felt cold and lonely on the empty corridor, but mother told her, that she and Kiritsugu have some important work to do tonight, so Illya shouldn't disturb them. What's even worse, they would depart to Japan soon. Illyasviel promised to wait patiently for them, like a good girl should. She was their princess and a princess always keeps her promises, but…

Deep inside she was scared. She did not want them to leave, even for a week or two. She wished they could stay like this forever, going for a walks, counting walnut buds - just be together.

There were many small rooms and mysterious chambers in the castle, some inhabited, others long abandoned and used mostly as storerooms. Although she was forbidden to do so, Illya regularly took trips through the Einzbern domain, too curious to just ignore its secrets and too smart to get caught.

Her bare feet were slapping on the floor, when she came down to the basement, attracted by the magical aura coming from one of the rooms. Fortunately, the door moved smoothly, without a creak. Illya sneaked inside and looked around. It was typical for the Einzberns to keep clean even long abandoned chambers, so the girl was surprised, seeing a dust on the floor. But even with a thick layer of dirt, a red circle was visible beneath it, emitting a strange gleam of energy.

Illyasviel has seen such circle before, when she was spying on Kiritsugu. He was drawing a sign like this, saying a strange rhyme or song during the process. She remembered some words, so weird, that she wasn't sure, if it was an actual spell or just a babble of her father, bored with his drawing practice.

"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill!" - she sang cheerfully, just for fun, twirling around the circle on the ground. "I propose… What was next? Come under my command. I will be good… in eternal world. Hmm… Difficult word. Come forth the circle of… another difficult word." She stopped and crossed her arms, utterly disappointed. "Kiritsugu can't sing a good song! This one has no sense. Oh? What? It hurts!"

All magic circuits in her body reacted at once, as if an electrical impulse came through them. Illyasviel squealed and lost her balance when the white light from the circle blinded her. Something magical and powerful was coming, but she could only sit like this on the cold floor, covering her eyes to protect them from this unnatural brightness.

* * *

"Who…?" Kiritsugu was truly shocked, not even able to finish a sentence.

"I ask you. Are you my Master?"

It was a slim person, almost as tall as Emiya, but definitely more delicate. The mysterious Servant wore a dark armor, with some elements stylized to look like parts of a dragon's body, and a helmet, completely covering his face. But even more disturbing was a weapon he wielded – more or less a lance, a very big one, like the knights used long ago in tournaments to threw an opponent off a horse. It was definitely not Excalibur.

"Hmmm. I can sense disappointment in the air." Annoyed by the prolonged silence, Servant took off the helmet, revealing her blonde hair and beautiful golden eyes. The woman looked at Kiritsugu with a mix of curiosity and discontent in her gaze. "Servant Lancer, Arturia Pendragon, came to your calling, Master. I would like to have a proper conversation first, but it wouldn't be wise with an enemy Servant nearby."

Thousand thoughts came across Kiritsugu's mind. 'A woman? The King of Knights was a woman? What's with this strange weapon and aura around her? Why not Excalibur? Why not Saber?' – and many more, but there was something really important in her last words.

"Another Servant? Here in the castle?"

Lancer only smiled in response, hearing a loud sounds of footsteps on the corridor. Someone raised an alarm, armed homunculi were heading to the basement. It looked like even old golem Jubastacheit was involved, so this unexpected threat must have been really serious.

Kiritsugu and Irisviel exchanged worried gazes.

"So…" Arturia raised her strange and scary weapon, ready to fight. "Shall we go, Master?"

* * *

The little girl stared at the man.

The man stared at the little girl.

They stayed like this in silence for a long while, both equally surprised.

 _Well, this is not what I expected_ , the Knight of the Sword thought.

He knew he was needed here, that was obvious. This small creature in a nightgown needed him, her pure voice has reached him, ignoring the barriers of time and space. Her innocent wish seemed so refreshing and beautiful, that he decided to answer the call. There were no excuses now. Even if she's not an adult, even if she's not totally a human being, a Master is a Master.

What's more, from the first moment he saw this little girl, he felt an urge to protect her. He just couldn't do anything about this feeling. It was irresistible.

"Servant Saber. I have answered your calling, Master," the freshly summoned Servant spoke first, with a calm and kind voice.

"Master?" Maybe because of the essence of Justeaze in Illya's body, or maybe because of the fact, that she was created to become a vessel, she instinctively knew about Master and Servant system. "Servant… Mine? Really? Only mine?"

Saber nodded and then smiled, seeing the girl's reaction. Her red eyes were shining with joy and excitement.

"Wooow!" She accepted the hand reached out to her to help her stand up. Now, with the warrior still on his knees, their eyes were more or less on the same level, so the girl came closer to inspect him. "It means that you will do everything I ask?"

"Well…" This was problematic, truly. Maybe even dangerous. "Technically yes, but…"

"Aaaah! So great!" Her face was closer than five centimeters from his now, and a little finger poked his cheek. "You're not as scary as you look."

Saber gave her a really strange expression before he gave up and just smiled.

"You really think I look scary, Master?"

She nodded without hesitation. Saber found it painful, not really sure why.

"Um, this big sword is scary. And this cloak. And the light on your neck." She chuckled, playing with his hair. "Almost as white as mine, ha ha!"

Servant endured this treatment with admirable patience.

"Master, may I ask your name?"

"Um! Illyasviel von Enzbeirn. And you have a name too?"

"Yes. It's better to call me just 'Saber', but I'm…" He stopped suddenly, stood up and grabbed his sword, placing Illya in the corner of the room, behind his back.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone is coming, Master. I detected an enemy Servant."

"Ene… my?" She looked up, surprised how tall he is, even taller than Kiritsugu.

"Don't worry, Master. I'm here to protect you." There was something warm in his voice. It made the girl sure, that he truly meant what he said.

"But Sab…"

The door opened, but no one dared to enter the room, seeing a tip of a giant sword pointed at his face. Jubastacheit, surrounded by the armed homunculi, frowned, visibly displeased.

"Too soon. She's not yet finished."

 _Finished?_ Saber gave him a very unfavorable gaze. _Like a thing, a property?_

Something was clearly wrong with the mages of this castle and he had to quickly figure out their true motives for the sake of little Illyasviel.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you come near my Master unless you tell me your intentions towards her," he said politely. "Could you please explain, who you are?"

The head of the Einzbern family stared at the knight.

"You are not the one to ask questions, but to obey, familiar."

"I will obey. But only the orders of my Master.'

"Really? And maybe we should just let you be, so you can manipulate the child and do as you please?"

"I would have never done such thing." Saber frowned angrily; he seemed to feel deeply offended. "You have my word."

"So I have nothing, because this much a word of a ghost is worth."

The swordsman sighed painfully.

"What a sad and awful times have come, when people no longer believe in a word of their hero."

"An insolent familiar, as expected from a Saber class." The Old Man Acht was far from being nervous or lose his patience, he just stated the undeniable fact. "Know your place, mere tool."

"Maybe we are tools, but we will never stop being heroes, even after death. This is carved in our souls."

"Oh? What a proud words, I can't ignore them!" – a deep but definitely feminine voice sounded on the corridor.

Three more people came to the basement, one of them was a Servant with a powerful dragon-like aura, that made Saber ever more cautious and tensed than before. Lancer was ready to battle, but, in the presence of too many bystanders, including a child, she just waited, letting her Master decide if a duel in such circumstances is really necessary.

"What the…" Kiritsugu clearly had no words for the madness of this night. He winked, impressed by the general potential of this new Servant. _This one must be a local hero to gain such geographical boost here._ _I could make good use of him._

"Illya!" Worried Irisviel rushed to her daughter, ignoring completely the sword and its wielder.

Surprisingly, Saber just let her pass and hug the girl. But when Kiritsugu tried to do the same thing, he was stopped halfway, so fiercely, that even Lancer instinctively grasped her weapon.

Two Servants were looking at each other for a while and came to the same conclusion – it won't be an easy victory.

"Don't even try to fight, you fools," Jubastacheit said and somehow managed to sound emotionless as usual. "Just force this familiar to obey, he will serve us well."

"Mother, look at my Servant!" Illya clung to Irisviel, not really understanding – or just ignoring - the seriousness of this situation. "He's so strong! He told me, that he will do everything I ask."

"I see. Then please tell him to calm down and put away the sword."

"I can't do this," Saber said with an apologetic look. "Not in a presence of the enemy."

"Kiritsugu is not the enemy…" - Irisviel started to explain.

"Um, he's Daddy!" – Illya finished, making her Servant even more confused than before.

 _It means they'll be fighting each other, sooner or later_ , he thought. _This is how the Holy Grail War goes. Not good, I will be involved in another family conflict._

"Saber?" Irisviel smiled to assure the swordsman that everything is fine. He recognized her as a pure-hearted and gentle creature, there was no reason to not believe her. Although still reluctant, he eventually put his gigantic weapon on his back and stopped blocking the passage. "Thank you. Come, Illya, it's late. You should be sleeping now. We will talk tomorrow."

"But my Saber is not going anywhere?" Illyasviel made a really cute, worried face. "He will still be here when I get up?"

"Of course, Master. I'm not going anywhere without you."

"You promise?"

"I promise." For now this oath had to be enough to maintain their contract, still unstable after such imperfect summoning. Mentally he already felt attached to this child, it was easy to see in his calm, blue eyes. "Sleep well, Master."

Illyasviel smiled and waved to him, leaving the room with her mother.

To say that Kiritsugu is displeased, was clearly not enough to describe his feelings about this situation.

"Come, Saber." He spit the last word almost like an insult, probably jealous and angry because of his own failure. "We need to talk."

* * *

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	2. 2: Humans Need Heroes

**2: Humans Need Heroes**

 _"_ _Saber… don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing you of anything, but if you don't mind, please answer honestly – what is your wish? What is so important for you to involve my little girl in the bloody conflict?"_

* * *

For Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald this Holy Grail War was a great failure even before it started. His precious catalyst from Macedonia has been stolen. Then the next relic, a replacement prepared in a great hurry, just didn't work.

A hero connected to this object could be materialized in Saber or Lancer class, but no one answered Kayneth's desperate calling. Does it mean that both classes were already occupied? Could it be that he, an extremely talented magus from an obscenely aristocratic family, would end with a weak Servant, not even one of the Three Knight classes? Or maybe without a Servant?

No, it was not possible. The Command Spells were shining proudly on Kayneth's hand. He has been chosen by the Grail to participate, to show other magi the meaning of true power, to crush his opponents in an epic magical duels. There is still a chance for him to summon a perfectly matched Heroic Spirit. Anyway, only a bad dancer complains about his shoes. A champion doesn't rely on tools to win.

But time was running out without mercy and Kayneth just couldn't accept another failure. This try must be the last. Although the magus did not want to admit this, he was so desperate right now, that he would probably welcome with open arms even a broken Servant of the worst possible class. That's why he breathed a sigh of relief, when the ritual ended and he could finally announce his success.

"Archer, huh?"

Sola-Ui winced, not really impressed by their new familiar. He looked too fragile, clearly unfitted for melee combat. As expected from an Archer class Servant, and from this particular faceless hero, who was famous of his specialization in guerilla warfare, striking from the shadows is the thing he can do best.

Kayneth's mind was already working at full speed, analyzing the situation, reconsidering his plans and tactics. Despite all the sad things his fiancé said about cowardice, about avoiding open and fair fights, lord El-Melloi smiled to his own thoughts.

This tool had some potential for a Master, who is a good tactician, no doubt. Kayneth was sure, that he will soon learn to use this Servant to his full capacity.

* * *

In the underground magic laboratory in the Tohsaka mansion three men gathered around the summoning circle could not believe their own eyes.

The specific hero indeed answered their calling, just as they had planned, and was now standing before them in his full glory, extremely powerful and majestic in his golden armor. Under different circumstances Tokiomi would have already announced his victory, but… Something was wrong. He looked at father Risei, waiting for an explanation.

"Has something like this ever happened before?"

The elder Kotomine only helplessly shook his head.

"What kind of a welcome is that?" The golden Servant frowned; there was also an obvious threat in his voice. "Do I sense disappointment? The offering was indeed worth my attention, so I couldn't ignore it and I've answered your calling. But I will not tolerate such insolence."

"No, mighty King of Heroes," Tokiomi explained, a little pale, carefully choosing his words. "It's a great honor for us to have you materialized here. We are surprised that you do not belong to any class, that's all."

"Ha! As if any of this tiny containers could be enough for me!" Gilgamesh gave him a wide, self-satisfactory smile. "I guess it can't be helped. You should be grateful for the sole fact, that I've decided to come."

"Of course, we are grateful, the greatest of all kings." Tokiomi bowed with respect and looked at Risei again, waiting for his decision. "What should we do?"

"The Tohsakas, being one of the three founding families, always have priority in joining the competition and the Grail itself made the summoning of this Servant possible, so I have no choice but to accept it. Classless or not, your team is a rightful participant."

"Thank you, father Risei." Tokiomi smiled, letting himself show some joy of grasping such powerful card in the upcoming game. "Let the battle begin! Gentlemen, we are one step closer to winning the Grail!"

* * *

"It's… problematic." Kiritsugu sighed. "With Lancer and Saber we have an overwhelming advantage over other Masters, but Illya is too young to participate in the war. The risk is too great."

They all gathered in one of the chambers, Jubastacheit in the center of the room, Emiya and his wife at the opposite sides of the table. Lancer accompanied her Master on the one side and Saber stood behind Irisviel on the other. There was no aggression between the Servants, but they still observed each other carefully, just in case.

"The best course of action would be to extract her Command Spells and pass them to a better prepared magus." Jubastacheit ignored completely a very unfriendly gaze, that Saber gave him, and continued. "But it's impossible in her case, unless we want to rip out her magic circuits. She must go to Japan, there's no other way."

"It would be great to go there together," Irisviel said hesitantly. "We'll be much safer if we all stay in the castle in Fuyuki, right?"

"Not really." Kiritsugu crushed her dreams almost immediately. "If an enemy attacks the castle, even not knowing, that Illya is a Master, he will most likely target her first, assuming that she's our greatest weakness." He glanced at Saber, while saying this. "We must keep the fact, that Illya is a Master, secret as long as possible. And guard it well, just like the true name of Saber. Revealing it is like asking an enemy to kill them both."

They all agreed with Emiya in silence. Although both Servants preferred to fight openly and fairly, respecting the code of honor, there were some priorities important enough to bend the rules a little. And safety of a Master is clearly a top priority.

"Elder, I have a question." Something visibly bothered Kiritsugu. "How is it possible that such famous Heroic Spirit has been summoned here spontaneously? Is it because we're in his homeland?"

"We have a relic for him in our treasury," Old Man Acht answered simply.

"Then why you didn't use it?"

"Saber's weak point is too troublesome, summoning him was never truly worth the effort." Another quick and straight response. "If he's already here, he will be a good support for your Lancer, but I expect nothing more."

Kiritsugu was not so sure about it, but did not argue with Jubastacheit. Even not being Saber's Master, he could sense how powerful this Servant is. Summoned in his homeland, by a magus with an incredible potential, he was certainly blessed with additional skills and Noble Phantasms. But such thoughts were meaningless right now, all will be decided on the battlefield.

Even if Saber felt offended, he did not show it in any way. Arturia noticed this fact too and reacted with a thin smile. Emiya took it as a sign, that they will be able to cooperate.

"Saber should act under your command, Kiritsugu Emiya, but not openly." Jubastacheit got back to the main topic. "His Master will stay in another hideout."

"Grandf…" Worried Irisviel tried to interrupt this speech, but was mercilessly ignored.

"I ordered to speed up the manufacturing of her assistants." It looked like Jubastacheit had already decided and would not accept any changes in his plan. "Illyasviel will receive a bodyguard and a teacher to increase her magical knowledge. The building will be well protected and none of you is allowed to visit it, so it won't be discovered by the enemy. You will separate at the airport in Fuyuki."

Saber was visibly surprised, that the Einzberns want to keep him away from his Master, but decided to listen patiently to the end. There will be yet a time to propose another solution.

"With Saber acting independently, the others may decide to hunt his Master down at all costs," Kiritsugu said after a moment of hesitation.

"Indeed, there's always a risk."

"Then it would be better for both Servants to stay with Iri."

"So she will be targeted by everyone? They may even form an alliance to eliminate her."

"But I will be well protected by our two amazing knights." Irisviel smiled to them gently. Although it was not visible at first glance, both Servants appreciated this compliment. "I will be probably the safest person on Earth."

"So we will go with the first plan and then join forces if it fails," Kiritsugu concluded and the rest accepted this idea with more or less visible enthusiasm.

"If I may say something…" Saber decided to speak at last. "I still think that I should be the one to protect my Master." He sighed, seeing no signs of approval. "Well, I see I have no choice and I will respect your decision, but I insist at least on strengthening our bond with Master Illyasviel and making a proper contract, so I could sense any possible danger better than now." In fact, he could barely detect the presence of Illya, not to mention her current location. "Master should be also taught how to summon me for help with her Command Spell."

"Kiritsugu?" Irisviel looked at Emiya with hope. She evidently agreed with Saber in this matter and was happy, that Servant showed some initiative.

"Yes, it would be wise," Magus Killer admitted after a short while. "Irisviel, you will assist in this process."

 _I don't trust you either_ , Saber thought, but only nodded in response. He had nothing to hide.

"Good." Jubastacheit stood up, their council was over. "Your departure will be delayed, but I won't let you go until we finish the preparations. Spend your remaining time here wisely."

It was not a suggestion, but clearly an order. They all bowed before the master of the castle, accepting it.

Actually, they had no other choice.

* * *

 _This part of the castle is strangely quiet_ , Saber noticed. He was following Irisviel through the long corridor to Illya's room. _It looks like time has stopped in this place._ _Good to know that some people still have some respect for tradition._

They met no homunculi on the way and he quickly got bored, watching only the snowy landscape outside the window. There were some things he would like to ask Illya's mother, but he did not want to speak without permission again.

Fortunately, it was Irisviel who started talking.

"Saber… don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing you of anything, but if you don't mind, please answer honestly – what is your wish?" She stopped and turned around to look at him. "What is so important for you to involve my little girl in the bloody conflict?"

This point of view could seem surprising, but Saber understood all her doubts and fears. He could not blame Irisviel for asking this question and he did not hesitate to answer honestly.

"I have no wish and I do not desire the Grail. I've come because someone called for me, because I had a feeling that I'm needed here. I want only to make the wish of Illyasviel come true." Suddenly he kneeled before Iri on one knee, lowering his head. "I'm sorry, I should have been wiser. I didn't know that my Master is this young and I had no intention to expose her to danger. I will do what I can to keep her safe."

"I believe you." Irisviel gently placed a hand on his head, like a princess would do to a knight in her service. "Kiritsugu told me, that a Servant is just a tool, and I should not let my imagination go wild in a presence of a legendary hero, but... I can't totally agree with him. I've learned a lot about humans and I know that they need heroes just because they want to believe in their righteousness and power to save the world." Irisviel smiled. "You wouldn't be here if it wasn't true."

"Thank you for putting so much trust in me, Lady Irisviel."

"Illya likes you already, I can't just ignore it, can I?" She chuckled, but then became strangely serious. "Just keep your promise, that's all."

Saber raised his head to look at Irisviel, well aware of the importance of her words. To keep your promise – it seems so trivial, but means so much. For little Illya it was a matter of life and death.

"I will."

"Good." The smile she gave him was stunning. "Come, your Master is waiting."

* * *

Thank You for comments, PMs and other kinds of support! If I don't answer - it's only to avoid spoilers, so please forgive me.

There will be more Illya and Arturia next time, I suppose.

Thank You for reading! It would be nice to know your opinions.


	3. 3: The Last Moments of Peace

**3: The Last Moments of Peace**

 _"_ _If the true role of a hero is to be detested and shunned, then, as my duty, I shall take on that role. Just like my Master."_

* * *

"Illya, look who is here."

"My Saber!" The little girl smiled and rushed to the door, but suddenly stopped halfway. She crossed her arms and gave Saber a strange look. "You weren't here when I woke up, like you promised! I will not tolerate cheating!"

Having no good excuse, Saber only sighed.

"I'm sorry, Master, I…"

"Saber was helping me with a very important task." Irisviel decided to support him a little. "So don't be angry at him."

"Really?" Illya was still suspicious, but clearly wanted to believe in this explanation.

"Really," both her mother and Servant confirmed without hesitation.

"Fine. I can forgive you this time." The girl smiled, she had a manners of a true princess right now. "Now sit with me."

They sat together on the bed to talk about their plans and general rules of the war. Mostly Irisviel was speaking, with Illya rarely asking questions and Saber confirming some details.

"Master, please save your Command Spells for a truly important task, but don't hesitate to use them in danger."

"And if I feel lonely?"

"Then you just think about me." Irisviel smiled to Illya and kissed her forehead. "I've told you that I will always be with you, no matter what, right?"

"Um." The girl closed her eyes and clung to Irisviel. Saber felt extremely uncomfortable, intruding into their private moment. He intended to leave, but Illya grasped his hand. Or rather a finger, her hand was just too small, compared with his.

"No, you came late, so now you have to stay longer with me."

"As you wish, Master." Warmness and affection in his voice made Iri smile. "I haven't told you my name yet. I'm Sie…"

"I know, the Dragon Slayer!" Illyasviel smiled. Actually she was a better and smarter Master than anyone could expect. "You smell like a dragon! And you're strong. A hero, who never loses!"

Irisviel could not resist and laughed at loud, seeing Saber's embarrassment. Actually, he looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him. This legendary warrior has been just crushed by a little girl.

Well, at least it was clear, who's the Master in their team.

"Saber?"

"Yes, Lady Irisviel?"

"You're blushing." She had no mercy for him.

"It's because my Master praises me too much. I don't deserve it."

"No, it's true!" Illya crossed her arms again. "You have never been defeated, even once. And you're not allowed to lose or die, got it?" She pointed toward him. "My Servant is the strongest and won't lose. This is my first order for you, Saber."

She was extremely serious right now, so Siegfried had no choice, but to bow before her, accepting this command.

"Understood, Master."

Thus their true contract was made, filling them both with new energy and – what's even more important – new hope.

* * *

Arturia decided to practice a little, so she went outside and summoned her horse. Her amazing weapon seemed to be able to pierce through literally everything. Some fallen, awfully damaged trees were enough to tell – it looked like they have been destroyed by a division of battle tanks, not a single rider.

Right now Lancer was standing in the middle of this mess, similar to a landscape after a hurricane, petting her demonic mount. Her black armor seemed somehow out of place in the snow, so she dispelled some parts of this battle outfit, including her scary helmet. Now she looked like a very attractive woman, not a dark knight from the worst nightmares. She was stunningly beautiful, to be honest.

"What a wonderful creature," Saber said, approaching her through the snowdrifts.

Lancer turned around and stared at him, her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Your mare. Too." He winked and slowly reached out his hand to the mount. The horse sniffed several times, with its ears pinned back in anger, but did not bite and even let Siegfried touch her neck.

"Llamrei," Lancer said suddenly, not even looking at Saber.

"Hmm?"

"Her name. Llamrei." She caressed mare's nostrils with a thin smile. "You must have some experience in taming horses. She usually isn't this nice."

"Well, I befriended a magnificent beast once." Saber smiled but there was an obvious sadness in his voice. "Never mind."

They were standing like this, inhaling the fresh, cold air and completely ignoring the falling snow. It could be their last moment of peace before the upcoming storm.

"What do you think about Kiritsugu's wish?" - Arturia spoke suddenly. "I ask you as our ally."

"About saving the world, like Lady Irisviel said? Hmm… I find small wishes much more captivating." He smiled. "They may be egoistic, but it's only a part of human nature."

"If they are so small, why people need help to grant them?"

"Sometimes the smallest thing is impossible to achieve if you're alone and desperate. That's why people entrust their wishes to someone, who's recognized as powerful. It's almost like a prayer."

"I see. So you've responded only to requests which were asked of you?"

It was a quick and accurate conclusion. Arturia has figured him out easily – a clear sign, that she must have had some similar experiences in the past. Or at least that she kept thinking about such things a lot.

"During my life? Yes. I got a chance to fix my mistake later and I'm going to follow this new, better path." A strange light appeared in his eyes, when he remembered something.

"Be careful, I know what it means to constantly save people. It's not really making them happy."

"I know. It's impossible to carry everything in the world in a single person's arms. But isn't it exactly what your Master is trying to do?"

Arturia lowered her head a little, thinking.

"You think it's pointless?"

"Probably. But maybe your Master is much wiser than me and knows the way to actually save the world, who knows?"

Lancer stared at him, her piercing gaze seemed to reach his very soul. Then she closed her beautiful golden eyes and smiled.

"So it's worth trying, right? That's why I will assist my Master and I'll do what I can to help him fulfill this dream. I will crush everything on our way. His goal is worth the sacrifice."

"Even if you feel, that it's just wrong, like killing innocents, you'll still follow his orders?"

"We all left piles of corpses behind us, otherwise we wouldn't become Heroic Spirits."

Saber didn't even try to deny it.

"Yes, I did many things I'm not proud of, I suppose we all did." And he swore to never be like this again. "After all, a hero continues to fight, like a madman, to the bitter end. This is who we are."

"Ah, we can't just stop, no matter what."

"For all the people, who believe in us," Siegfried whispered.

"For all the lives that perished because of us," Arturia added quietly, speaking more to herself than to him. "We must go forward, because the salvation awaits at the end. If the true role of a hero is to be detested and shunned, then, as my duty, I shall take on that role. Just like my Master."

"I see."

He couldn't say that she's wrong, at least not completely. Moreover, he was not the one to decide. A certain Heroic Spirit has taught him once, that a wish of every single soul summoned to participate in the Holy Grail War is equally important. They must fight for those dreams, it's the only way.

Siegfried was good at fulfilling wishes, even if they were not really worth granting. This time the really important one has been entrusted to him, so...

"Let us be allies as long as possible," he said after a moment of silence.

Lancer nodded.

"But I suppose that none of us will be able to abandon our ideals in the end."

"So it seems. When the time comes, I will entrust my life to my blade, like my Master ordered me to."

"But remember, that my spear has already pierced the heart of a dragon." Even if it was a warning or threat, Arturia remained calm, and Saber only nodded, accepting this simple truth.

They both cared for people and hated unnecessary cruelty. They understood and respected each other, which let them form a wonderful alliance, but the aspirations of their Masters were mutually exclusive. It's only a matter of time before their ideals collide.

* * *

"I'm so high up!" - Illya shouted, excited and happy, raising her hands high above her head.

Kiritsugu has just picked her up from the ground and gave her a piggyback ride through the forest around the Einzbern castle. They went for a walk and, as usual, they were counting walnut buds. This time Illyasviel seemed really determined to win this little contest.

"Listen, Illya." Kiritsugu soon became serious again. "You won't mind if I borrow your Saber for a while?"

"Um." The girl nodded eagerly. "Mother told me already. But you will return him to me?"

"Of course." Her father chuckled. "He's yours, after all."

"And he's so strong!"

"Speaking of which… what can he truly do? Please, tell me."

Surprisingly, she hesitated. Kiritsugu did not understand the true meaning behind this silence.

"What's wrong, Illya?"

"You're a Master, I can't tell you," she explained simply. She must have realized that this is somehow against the rules of the Holy Grail War.

"But he won't be of any help, if I don't know how to use his skills."

"Saber is not a machine to be used. He will help you." The little girl smiled widely, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You need to ask him, that's all."

Kiritsugu sighed.

"Illya, it's not that simple…"

"It is!" She was so sure about it, that Emiya started to suspect something. "Saber can't refuse if you ask him for help. But you must really need it."

"Why?"

"I don't know. But he can't. Oh, I found one, there!" She showed Kiritsugu the bud and chuckled, playing with his hair.

Emiya stopped, not sure what to think about it. If this skill, or whatever it was, worked exactly like Illyasviel said, it could mean only some serious troubles. It was most likely another curse, like the weak point on his back. Maybe old Acht was right, that summoning this hero is more problematic than it seems and he's really not worth the effort?

"Kiritsugu?" Illya poked her father in the head, alarmed by this prolonged pause.

"Yes, yes, we keep going…" The snow creaked under his shoes, when he started walking again. "Tell me, what is the Noble Phantasm of your Servant?"

"Noble Phan…?" She bit her fingernail, thinking. "This scary thing only he can use?"

"Exactly."

"Hmm…" Illyasviel started counting on her fingers while speaking, to not forget any important details. "His armor, his sword and cloak."

"This cloak too?" That was something new for Kiritsugu. He tried to recall some local legends, but couldn't remember anything useful enough and decided to do some research later.

"Um. There should be also the gold and his horse, but they are blocked, I don't know why." She saddened immediately. "Is this because I'm a weak magus?"

"No, Illya, you are a very powerful magus. More than me."

"But grandfather said, that if we do another surgery…"

"I don't care, what grandfather said," Kiritsugu interjected, louder and much more fiercely than he intended to. "You're strong enough, Illya. No more surgery."

"Yay!" She smiled with relief. "I don't like being cut. It hurts."

"You won't be, don't worry." Kiritsugu was so angry, that he decided to remain silent until he regains his usual composure. It might be their last walk together, so it's better for Illya to remember it as a positive experience, not spoiled by his bitter expression and rude behavior.

They kept walking through the winter forest until they lost sight of the castle. Then Kiritsugu chose a narrow path, which should lead them to the side entrance of the fortress.

"We're going back already?" – Illya had nothing against this idea, it was cold enough and the snow started falling again, making her game impossible to continue. "How many walnut buds you spotted?"

"Four."

"Ha, ha! I won this time!" She clapped her hands, truly happy. "I found six! I'm the champion of the Walnut Game!"

"Of course you are, my princess. The Champion Princess Illyasviel!" Kiritsugu laughed. He grabbed his daughter and twirled her around in the air, but quickly became serious again, like if he was ashamed of such rare and short moments of happiness. He put the girl back on the ground. "Illya, try not to waste your Command Spells, ok? They're very precious."

"I know. I won't need them anyway."

"Good." Emiya nodded, although he knew that it's not truth. Her Command Spells were necessary to move forward with his new plan. At least one spell must remain, to order Saber to commit suicide.

If everything goes as planned and their team reaches the final stage of this conflict, Kiritsugu will not risk losing or damaging his Lancer at the very end of this dangerous, bloody path.

* * *

"We should proceed imediately with our plan."

Tokiomi's voice was coming through the magical communicator in the church. Although the sound was distorted, it was easy to notice, how upset the red magus really is.

"It's pointless now," Kirei Kotomine explained in an emotionless voice. "Some Masters have not yet arrived, others did not make any move. It makes no sense to start the show, when there's no audience."

"Who's late? The Einzberns?"

"Yes. And one more, we have no idea, who exactly."

"I see." Tokiomi was silent for a long while, then sighed. "Let's give them two more nights then."

It was unusual for incredibly patient Tokiomi to act in such haste, but he summoned a very unusual Servant. Gilgamesh was now running around the town, 'seeking entertainment', like he himself proclaimed. While other teams were making plans in hiding, trying to know their enemies, Tohsaka's Servant was just recklessly wandering through Fuyuki, not even bothering to hide his presence.

Tokiomi tried to discuss his tactics with Gilgamesh, but it seemed that their opinions in this matter were quite different. The King of Heroes found the reasoning of his Master ridiculous, claiming that he has nothing to fear. He said, that the only good thing about the Holy Grail War is the last, open battle between the most powerful adversaries, and Tohsaka, who can only hide in the shadows, is nothing more than a scared rat or worthless mongrel.

This Servant was extremely hard to control; Tokiomi was not sure anymore, that he will participate in a fake attack on Assassin without the use of a Command Spell. Maybe he will manage to convince him somehow before the arrival of the Einzbern Master?

It might not be visible at the first glance, but Kotomine was even more nervous and impatient than Tohsaka. Knowing neither joy, nor excitement until now, he could hardly control those new feelings.

After listening the reports from his Assassins, Kirei came out from the church and stared at the night sky, at the waning moon on the ideal black, cloudless background. It was just like he felt inside – he has found a single light in absolute darkness. For the first time in his life he actually yearned for something.

"Where are you, Kiritsugu Emiya? Come, I'm waiting."

* * *

"So this is where Kiritsugu was born" - it was the first thing Irisviel said after getting off the plane.

She looked around, letting her long hair blow in the wind. Then she turned back and laughed at the view of two Servants, who has joined her outside.

"Is something wrong?" – Lancer asked and automatically checked her disobedient hair.

"No, you just look fantastic together in these clothes. Like a beautiful couple."

Lancer and Saber stared at each other and shrugged. Arturia wore a simple, elegant black suit and Siegfried wore a slightly less formal outfit, in the color of steel, matched to his hair. They really could be taken for a couple of foreign businessmen on a trip.

Irisviel insisted on dressing them like this and she had a lot of fun shopping. The journey together was also enjoyable, much better than with invisible Servants. Arturia could not shift into spirit form at all and Siegfried still had some problems, which were supposed to be solved soon - after a proper training that Illya is going to have with her new maid, Sella - so it was inevitable. But no one regretted the hours spent together on the plane.

Illyasviel had a great time during the flight and now was exhausted. She slowly proceeded down the stairs, yawning and rubbing her eyes with her fists. Iri tenderly hugged her daughter to say goodbye.

Both Servants waited, watching them from afar, to not interrupt this family moment. Finally, the already half-asleep girl waved to them and left the airport with her maids.

Irisviel wiped away her tears and took a deep breath, while turning to Saber.

"This is for you." She gave him a piece of paper with an address written on it, and a strange little key. "Find this hotel, you have a room booked there. And your motorcycle is parked outside."

"Oh?" Siegfried did not expect, that they've prepared everything for him. "Really, so much troubles…"

"Not at all." Iri smiled, so honestly, that Saber could only give up and smile back to her. He was surprisingly defenseless against her subtle charm. "The fact, that we're going to act separately, doesn't mean that you must be homeless, right? It would be inconvenient and dangerous."

"B…"

"Stop it, no apologizing." Irisviel laughed. "This machine is just an investment in our safety. We won't be using a Command Spell every time to transport you quickly to the battlefield."

"I see. Thank you." He hesitated, but decided to hug her eventually. "Please be careful."

Lancer did not burn with enthusiasm for such effusive farewells. She just bowed slightly and followed Irisviel through the corridor, leaving Siegfried alone in the strange, foreign country.

He made it somehow to the exit and whistled with admiration, when he found his new motorcycle. To say that he liked it is not enough. This vehicle was just perfect.

"So it begins?"

With a wide smile on his face, Saber fired up the engine and headed out on the open road to test the limits of the machine.

* * *

Thank You for comments and support. Again: no answers = no spoilers, forgive me. But yes, this Gilgamesh seems to be more like the one from Fate/Prototype.  
Thank You for reading and don't hesitate to leave a comment!


	4. 4: Survive the Night

**4: Survive the Night**

 _"_ _So you choose death? Very well."_

* * *

Saber woke up late in the evening in a small bed in a small hotel room. Actually, he did not intend to fall asleep, but the pillow smelled so good, that he couldn't resist. Illya's steady heartbeat reached him from the distance, filling his own heart with peace.

The connection between them worked well now, he could easily find Illyasviel, hidden somewhere in the northern part of Miyama district. He has already checked how far from his Master he can go without any consequences. It seemed that the red Fuyuki bridge was the critical point – he felt heavy just a few kilometers further on the other side of the river. The ley lines of this town formed a really strange pattern and he was not very compatible with them.

Now his Master was safe and content after a long sleep. Siegfried felt sorry for Illya. She may soon see some parts of his shattered memories in her dreams and it's certainly not good for a child. Blood, slaughter, more blood and ever more slaughter - his legend is like a long nightmare. Little girls deserve the sweetest dreams, not something this creepy.

"Forgive me, Master. I wish I could show you some good things instead."

The world was still beautiful, not in a way he remembered it, but some things were even better. Yesterday he discovered many new things, including motorcycles and delicious Japanese sweets. In his life he had never tasted so many sweet things, and he has never suspected, that food can be this good. It would be great to share this new experience with Illya - Saber could already imagine her reaction, wide smile and sparkles in her eyes.

He sighed, examining his own thoughts. He's been summoned here to fight, not to have fun or grant wishes. But he could not deny, that he intended to grant a wish and actually had some fun in the town. Should he feel ashamed because of that? Was it really wrong and unforgivable?

Maybe not, if he won't forget about his task. The best way to make his Master's wish come true is to defeat Arturia and make sure that Illya's parents abandon the war. But would Kiritsugu truly give up? And, what bothered Saber even more, would he be able to win against Lancer?

Siegfried did not know fear, but the strange sensation he could feel, thinking of Arturia's lance, was as close to it as possible. If there's a weapon in this war able to annihilate him, through his weak point or not, it's certainly that lance with a strange, divine aura. In a different situation he would be happy to have such a wonderful opponent, but now he had the clear goal. He must focus on surviving, no, even more - on wining this war.

It was not a good time for thinking about killing Arturia, now they were allies. Illya wanted Saber to help her father and he will do it. This little and cute Master won't be betrayed, not by him. But no one said that Saber must obey the orders of Kiritsugu Emiya, and he had no intention to do so. This time he was not treated like a tool, some things were for him to decide.

Well, soon it will turn out if it was a good idea.

He sighed again and turned on the TV. It was the time for the evening news. Something bad happened in Fuyuki, a serial killer, who targeted mostly children and young women, murdered another family few nights ago. It looked like the culprit was enjoying the suffering of his victims, not to mention how much he desecrated their corpses, cutting off their heads, limbs or drawing pentagrams with their blood.

"He's trying to summon something? He's a mage?"

Saber frowned, angry at the psychopath, who spreads evil across this beautiful town. Such things were not forbidden during the Holy Grail War? Involving innocent bystanders draws too much attention to already dirty conflicts of magi. This war should have a supervisor from the Church too, shouldn't it? It wasn't the first time, so why no one intervened? They don't watch TV or what?

Most likely they don't really care. Normally Siegfried also wouldn't be involved, but… He wanted to help, even if no one asks him for it. And this case seems to be a part of the war, more or less, so nobody will cry, if he finds and kills the bastard, right?

Saber soon left his room and sank into darkness, not yet sure if it will be the night of sightseeing, fighting or hunting.

* * *

"Look at her, Ryuunosuke! Her very existence is the answer!" In his dark lair, Caster was looking into the glass sphere, which he used to observe the city. "She is the maiden of my destiny!"

"Huh?" His Master came closer to take a look. He saw two women on the beach, walking carefree under the moon: a white-haired and red-eyed beauty in the company of a mysterious blonde with dangerous golden eyes. "Which one?"

"Jeanne, of course! My dearest Jeanne, who's been abandoned by God and perished in shame." Caster's excitement has just reached a ridiculously scary level. "But now she returned, matured, wiser and stronger, to take revenge on her persecutors! My wish has been fulfilled at last! It's a miracle!"

Ryuunosuke was not really sure, what's happening. Tears were running down Caster's cheeks, while he was staring at the image of the blonde.

"So… what are you going to do, Mister?"

"I will come for her soon, of course. Together we will challenge God and show him the greatest blasphemy this world has ever seen!"

* * *

A Master and his Servant were sitting on the sidewalk in the park, analyzing maps and discussing their wishes to the Grail. The big, bearded man was speaking about conquest, but the young mage wanted only to be treated fairly by other people.

"How foolish! You're in this battle just for your reputation?" The boy literally flew away, when Rider flicked his nose. "Perhaps you should use the Grail's power to grow another thirty centimeters? Hmmm, this one looks like a warrior, but he sneaks in the shadows."

"What are you talking about?" Waver Velvet looked around and froze. A Servant in modern clothes was standing a few meters from them. The young magus read his status and blinked, utterly surprised. "S-Saber?"

"Greetings to the famous King of Conquerors and his Master." The intruder bowed slightly. "I didn't mean to disturb you, I was just passing by. Too bad that you've stopped talking, it was very interesting."

Waver's face turned pale, when he realized, how close the enemy Servant managed to approach them unnoticed. Rider looked unmoved, but he too was thinking how could it happen.

 _Saber with Presence Concealment skill?_ The boy swallowed. _No, impossible. Maybe we've just been careless?_

"So you already know my name, but will you give us yours in return?" Rider did not change his position and had no slightest intention to do so. "Who are you? A wandering knight, like the ones of the Round Table?"

Saber chuckled at this unexpected compliment. He must say Arturia about it when they'll meet again. It was also a nice try to provoke him, to be honest.

"Well, kind of. I have nothing against giving my name to such respectable opponent, but…" He looked around and winked meaningfully. "Too many uninvited ears may hear it, so forgive me for now."

"I see." It was more than enough information for Rider. Now he was sure, that the true name of this hero will tell him about his weakness. "You're already involved in this conversation, so come, sit with us and tell me what you think."

"Whaaaaat?!" Waver did not hide his discontent. He was staring at his Servant with his eyes wide open. Right now he did not look like a self-proclaimed genius, not at all. "Seriously?"

"About what?" Saber sat down on the sidewalk, face to face with Rider, as if it's a normal thing to do for two Servants, summoned here to fight each other.

"About our wishes. What do you think?"

"Every wish is important, but… Honestly?" Rider confirmed with a nod. "I think that you don't really need the Grail to grant them. It's something you should do yourself, because in this case the process is more important than the effect."

"Huh?" Waver seemed to be even more confused than before.

Iskandar burst out laughing. It was a deep, vibrating sound, which was coming from his belly rather than from his throat.

"Interesting! I think I like you. I would like to see you in battle first but if your sword is as sharp as your tongue..." Still laughing, he poked Saber in the arm, like he would do to one of his trusted companions. "I ask you here and now – will you join my army? You will be treated like my friend, sharing both the glory and the joy of conquest. What say you?"

"Haaa?" Waver blinked, not believing his own ears.

Siegfried smiled, captivated by this charismatic man.

"I respect your dream of conquest, but I'm not interested in fighting for it or for you, at least not for now."

"Why? Your pride won't let you join me?"

"No, I suppose I'm not half as proud as the other Heroic Spirits." Saber smiled."I just have a promise to keep. Sorry."

Iskandar sighed.

"You've already swore your sword to someone else? What a waste, what a shame. So, when the time comes…"

"Yes, I will gladly answer to your challenge. It would be an honor, great King of Conquerors." Saber stood up with a smile, waved to them and slowly walked his way, heading to the port.

"Hey, Rider." Waver stared at Saber's back. "I thought I've picked a weird Servant, but… There are more, who are not really interested in fighting for the Grail?"

Iskandar laughed at his question.

"Probably. If you love life and enjoy everything this world can give you, you will never miss the opportunity to come back, even for a while, right?" He slapped his Master in the back, making him cough painfully. "No, you probably don't get it yet. You must grow up. Or rather get old, ha, ha!"

His young Master stared at him without understanding.

"Don't look at me like that, boy. Anyway, it's not the time to think of death, first you must let yourself truly live!"

"If you love life so much, then why you risk losing it in battle?" Waver clearly was trying to figure it out.

"Isn't it obvious?" Iskandar spread his arms as wide as he could, as if he was trying to embrace the whole world he intended to conquer. "To experience it to the fullest, of course! You never feel as alive as on the verge of death, when you're heart is dancing!"

King of Conquerors waited patiently in silence for the boy to confirm, that he understands this lesson. After a long moment of heavy silence, he sighed and stood up.

"Enough talking then, I'll show you soon what the conquest truly mean. Now we should go."

"What?! Where?!" - Waver shouted, already back on his feet. He had a bad feeling about it.

"We're going to follow Saber, of course," Rider explained with a wide smile. "People like him have a talent for getting into trouble and I won't miss the fun!"

After a short command his chariot has descended from the sky, accompanied by thunders, and ready for the ride.

* * *

Kiritsugu has arrived as planned to the hotel and met there with Maiya. His equipment was ready, as well as all the reports. But the first thing he did was to check the transmission from the cameras placed in Illya's hideout.

All systems were working perfectly, Kiritsugu checked the rooms of this old house and smiled, seeing Illya on the corridor. She was yelling at one of her maids, probably Leysritt, with a ridiculously serious expression. She should have been sleeping right now, but the change of time zone after a long journey may be a problem, especially for a child. Or maybe she was so nervous at night because of the Holy Grail War?

"There was an incident last night at the Tohsaka mansion." Maiya showed Kiritsugu the record. It looked like Assassin was annihilated by the unknown Servant of the red magus.

They've discussed this matter and were almost sure, that it was a poorly arranged bluff. It looked like Tohsaka was waiting for all the Masters to start this show and hid Kotomine Kirei in the church, so he could act freely under his father's protection.

"Oh?" Maiya froze suddenly, when one of her spying bat familiars detected something interesting.

Kiritsugu abandoned the cigarette he was going to light up and instinctively picked up the rifle.

"What's happening?"

"It's seems that we have the first serious battle at the harbor. At least three Servants appeared there."

"Iri is somewhere around the harbor with Lancer, right?" - Emiya contacted his wife immediately, glad that he had taught her how to use a cell phone.

"Kiritsugu? Yes, we're at the docks. Saber is fighting two opponents at once" – Irisviel said, surprisingly worried. "And Lancer can sense more Servants nearby. Should we help Saber?"

"Only as a last resort. Stay calm, I'll be there soon. It's a perfect opportunity to know our enemies."

"Ok, I'll let Lancer decide when to intervene."

She disconnected in a great hurry. It was not surprising, considering the loud noises in the background, strange explosions, sounds of clashing swords and crushed containers.

"Let's see what Servants in this War really can do," Kiritsugu whispered, more excited than he really should be.

* * *

Gilgamesh was laughing, visibly pleased. His little plan was successful.

"You dare to call yourself Saber, the strongest class? You should enjoy my gift more."

He was standing at the top of a mountain of stacked containers and watched the battle below. This duel was chaotic and brutal, like any other fight with Berserker as one of the opponents. This particular Berserker was like an animated, raging black armor, covered by strange shadows.

"I see." Saber remained calm and focused, the contrast between both fighters was fascinating. "You've provoked Berserker to go into frenzy and then lured him here to attack me."

Gilgamesh gave him a wide, vicious smile.

"And you walked into my trap like a complete fool. A small burst of mana was enough to invite you."

"A champion takes on all challengers," Saber quoted Illya's favorite line with a strange, thin smile.

"Then reap what you sow." King of Heroes opened the golden portals in the air around him and threw some weapons at both warriors. "It's time to increase the difficulty, you've started to bore me."

 _Shit_ , Saber thought, seeing blades coming at him from all possible directions. Although he managed to block or dodge all of them, he found the necessity of doing so extremely annoying. Every time Saber was about to land decisive blow, more blades came to disturb him. Gilgamesh was clearly mocking them with his unusual attacks, there was no logical explanation of this behavior.

Berserker grabbed one of the flying blades, a fine bastard sword, probably his favorite type of weapon. Their duel became even more fierce and spectacular right now. Some parts of shattered containers and fragments of asphalt were flying around, also no street lamp remained untouched. Only the moon kept shining upon the battlefield.

"I really don't mind fighting you all night, but what about your Master?" Saber stepped back, blocking another powerful strike. Their clash carved another large hole in the ground. "You will exhaust him to death, you know?"

Berserker only growled and attacked Saber even more vigorously.

The real problem with this Black Knight was not his strength, which made him able to actually pierce through Saber's dragon skin and scratch him, but the combat skills of the mad warrior. He must have been a top-class swordsman to keep up with Siegfried with such ease. Even without releasing the energy from his sword, Saber should end this fight relatively quickly, but he got stuck in a disadvantageous position, because of the continued attacks of the strange golden Servant.

 _What's his goal? To force me to use my Noble Phantasm?_

Soon another enemy decided to join the fight. The rain of small arrows has fallen at the fighting Servants. One of the missiles hit Siegfried's back, dangerously close to his weak point.

 _Great. Who else wants to kill me tonight?_

The attack of the invisible sniper seemed futile at first glance, but soon they all realized the true meaning behind this strange maneuver. No arrow actually pierced through Saber's dragon skin or through the armors of his enemies, but the air around became strangely heavy, like in a forest full of poisonous plants.

When the toxin reached Saber's nostrils, his vision became blurred. He was slowing down with every breath and the fact, that Berserker seemed unaffected, was not a good sign.

 _At this rate he'll…_

"Enough!" The rider in black entered the scene. "Three on one? And you still dare to call yourself Heroic Spirits?"

"Oh? So you've decided to show up at last." Gilgamesh's smile widened at the view and it could mean only troubles.

* * *

"Maiya, have you spotted any enemy Masters?"

"None."

Kiritsugu clenched his fists. They've checked every corner of the harbor and found nothing, except the supposedly dead Assassin, who was observing the fight from the crane. Archer class possesses Independent Action skill, so Master of the invisible sniper probably did not even leave his warm apartment. The same may refer to Tokiomi Tohsaka and his abnormal Servant, but at least Master of Berserker should be somewhere nearby… Or maybe this black thing is raging out of control now and a Command Spell is needed to make him return to his magus?

Emiya sighed. It seemed that his Lancer was the only Servant actually controlled by a Master here.

 _What's wrong with this Holy Grail War? It's a rebellion of Servants or something?_

With almost all the familiars running freely and no Master to challenge, Kiritsugu could only watch and wait for the results of this crazy battle.

* * *

Lancer charged at Berserker at full speed; she did not even raised her weapon against the Black Knight, only hit him with her armored horse. The power of this impact was great enough to send Berserker flying. He hit the pile of containers, then fell on the ground, stunned and battered. After a short while, he vanished into his spirit form, not able to continue the fight.

At this moment another arrows came, targeting only Arturia's horse and less protected parts of her body, especially legs. One or two reached the target. The mare squealed painfully, but Lancer seemed only enraged because of the poison. She looked around, determined to find the troublesome sniper.

Gilgamesh, angry at the intruder, who dared to mess with his show, also focused on searching for the hidden enemy.

"I can feel you, pest," he said, looking at the mountain of stacked containers on the left. Because he wasn't able to localize the exact position of the sniper, he decided to destroy the entire area. The harbor was now glowing with a golden light from his open portals. "Filthy mongrel."

"Are you insane?" Saber jumped back to take cover. Arturia could barely control her scared horse, when the rain of weapons filled the sky above her head.

The containers exploded and collapsed at once, burying the hidden Servant under the mass of metal.

"Ouch." He scrambled out the ruins and stood up slowly, trying to save the remnants of his dignity. One of his legs seemed broken, but he somehow managed to stand. It was a tall but slim man, who looked more like a walking smudge of green, completely hidden under his cloak. "Hey, hey, you should calm down a little. You clearly overreacted."

"You!" Lancer raised her weapon and turned to Servant in green. "Archer, right? You have a chance to neutralize the poison and I will spare you this time. But if you refuse, it will be your end."

 _So this is serious?_ Siegfried, thankful for a moment of rest after the exhausting fight, was observing them all - especially smiling Gilgamesh - from the corner.

"Scary, scary!" Even if Archer was really frightened, the tone of his voice remained the same. "I would like to, but my Master changed the toxin with his magic tricks. I have no power to help you."

"So you choose death? Very well."

* * *

"Hmmm." Rider stroke his beard, watching the fight from the red bridge. "For a moment I was worried about Saber, but it seemed that Archer will be taken down tonight."

"This is preposterous…" The battle was so fascinating, that Waver forgot about his fear of heights, and enjoyed it with his eyes wide open.

"What exactly?"

"Everything!" The young magus shook his head with disbelief. "This classless Servant and his ridiculous Noble Phantasm! Saber, who survived the battle against three Servants at once! And Lancer is just scary, I don't even know why!"

"Ha, ha, ha! And now, boy, imagine that none of them is serious tonight," Iskandar added with a wide smile.

"Eeee?" Waver groaned, like he was about to vomit. "Then why you're so happy about it?"

"Because now I'm sure that my heart will be dancing pretty well during this campaign!"

* * *

Llamrei's hooves pounded the ground when Lancer charged at the defenseless bowman. Archer was desperately trying to escape, but they all knew that he has no chance against Arturia now. She was too fast and angry to be stopped by a weaker and wounded opponent. Maybe a Command Spell could save him now…

"Hey, you! Big guy over there!" - Archer shouted to Saber, trying to slow the horse down with arrows. "Maybe you will move your ass and help me? She's going to smash me!"

The urge to answer his desperate calling for help was as strong as a power of a Command Spell, if not stronger. There was no way for Saber to resist it.

"Damned curse!" – he whispered angrily, standing between charging Lancer and cornered Archer. He couldn't see Arturia's expression under her helmet, when he blocked a strike of her lance with Balmung, but her whole figure expressed hesitation and surprise. She ordered Llamrei to step back, not sure what to do.

She has just been betrayed and wanted to know the reason.

* * *

Thank You for reading, commenting and other kinds of support. And sorry for the cliffhanger. I hope You enjoyed his chapter!


	5. 5: The Knight of the Bow

**5: The Knight of the Bow**

 _"_ _Maybe Saber is an idiot? History knows many idiots with great swords."_

* * *

"O-hooo, that was close!" Archer did not wait and used this moment of total confusion to evacuate higher on the containers, far beyond the reach of Lancer's weapon. "I didn't really mean… Well, I meant it, but didn't expect, that you will actually help me. It would be sad to be defeated so soon, don't you think? Anyway, my Master wants me to withdraw, so… See you later, big guy!"

After saying this, he vanished – not dematerialized but just disappeared from their sight.

"Ha, ha, ha! This is ridiculous!" Gilgamesh laughed at loud, clearly enjoying the show. "I didn't expect this war to be so amusing! Fine then, I'll let you fight each other and the ones, who survive till the end, will be allowed to challenge me. But I have enough for today. After all, you must dose the pleasure carefully to have it for longer." Even during the dematerialization, his shoulders were still shaking with laughter.

Saber lowered his sword, but kept staring at the tip of Arturia's lance. Lancer was still ready to pierce his chest and this view alone was enough to make Siegfried shiver. He was sure that he's able to stand pretty well against King of Knights, but who knows what's the true power of her Noble Phantasm?

"Explain yourself." Arturia's voice echoed through the helmet. It was not a very pleasant sound, which seemed to come out from the abyss itself.

"I know how it looks like, but it's just another curse. It's probably because of my legend of a wish-granting knight. I cannot ignore the call for help, even if I want to. Some conditions must be fulfilled, but…" He shrugged, aware of the fact, how stupid this explanation sounds. "Let's say that he was lucky enough to activate it by accident."

Lancer did not make a move, clearly not convinced. At this moment, Irisviel's phone started ringing again.

"It's for you, Lancer." She handed the device to Arturia, who had to dispel her helmet to use it properly.

"It's me." Kiritsugu was breathing heavily, like after a long run. "Don't attack Saber, he didn't betray us. He has a curse on him to help, when he's asked to."

It was exactly like Siegfried explained a moment ago, so Arturia had no reason to not believe it. She nodded and confirmed shortly:

"Understood. You should have told me sooner about it. And… Master, may I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Master, why are we using this thing to talk? You can speak right into my mind using magic."

"Because most mages are traditionalists and won't be able to hear us. They would detect any magical conversation immediately, so it's just safe this way."

"If you say so…"

"Anyway, we can use this mess to our advantage. Now enemy Masters are sure that you and Saber are sworn enemies. Let them think this way."

"As you wish."

She gave the phone back to Irisviel. Saber smiled, seeing that Lancer returns to her casual outfit, and he did the same thing.

"I'm sorry. This was unfortunate."

"Let's just hope that no one will use it against you," Arturia answered coldly but without negative emotions. Irisviel smiled behind her back and used her healing magic on both Servants. They departed for now, to analyze all the information gathered during this chaos.

Saber sighed. He had to admit, that in one thing Gilgamesh was right.

This will be a very interesting war.

* * *

Kiritsugu hesitated for a while. Maybe he should just get rid of this problem and let Lancer crush Saber here and now? Illya wouldn't be a Master anymore, she would leave Fuyuki and live a peaceful life far away from this mess. And no one would use Siegfried's curse against Lancer again…

Judging from Saber's reaction, Arturia is able to kill him. But if they start to fight seriously right now, using all they've got for everyone to see, it will be a catastrophe.

Kiritsugu took a deep breath. He should cast emotions aside and focus - one wrong decision and they may lose everything. It was too soon for such final solutions. Saber will help them clear a path to victory or at least will show them the weaknesses of their enemies.

Running to change position as quick as possible, Emiya called to Lancer to give her orders. Then, far from Assassin's spying eyes, he lit up a cigarette, thinking. This chaotic clash was informative, it revealed useful details about their enemies. Berserker is powerful and may be a threat for Lancer, considering her specific fighting style, but Saber could annihilate him with ease. Archer managed somehow to poison Arturia and her mount; Kiritsugu must examine her condition before he'll decide, what to do. This strange Servant of Tokiomi Tohsaka seems to be the most troublesome, so taking down his Master will be the safest way to defeat him.

"What should we do next?" – Maiya asked suddenly, just a moment after she joined him. It was clear that they must adjust their tactics to new circumstances.

"When you want your prey to leave its nest, you set the forest on fire. I'm going to smoke them out of their burrows."

* * *

Rider stared at the golden mist in a place where King of Heroes stood just a moment ago. Waver wished he could read the mind of his Servant now, not sure, what Iskandar was really thinking. Rider even stopped drinking the cheap wine, which he brought with him, truly concerned.

"Oh? That was a strange turn of events just now…"

"What do you mean?"

"No one changes sides so easily. Saber and Lancer must have met before."

"Hmm…" Waver tilted his head, trying to unravel this strange intrigue. "Then why Saber saved Archer? It makes no sense."

"Who knows? Maybe he changed his plans? Or it's just a trick to confuse us? We must observe them closely to find out." Rider shrugged and stood up. His magnificent cape was waving in the wind, when he reached out his hand and pointed toward the harbor. "But there's something more important we must do first, boy!"

"W-what?" The young magus sweated, this sudden excitement of his Servant did not bode well for the future.

"Just look at them! How gorgeous they look in these modern clothes! As a king I cannot allow myself to be left behind, when other heroes move with the times! I need to wear something like this too!"

Waver blinked.

"You want me to buy you some modern clothes? And what if I don't? You'll refuse to fight?"

"Great idea!" Iskandar gave him a wide smile. "Finally we started to understand each other."

His Master had no words for this and just facepalmed really heavy, thinking, that maybe entering this war was not such a good idea.

* * *

"Um. You did well, Saber. I knew you're the strongest."

Illyasviel rolled in her bed, visibly pleased. She was wrapped in a blanket completely, so their maids cannot notice a small, shining crystal ball in her hand. Irisviel had taught her daughter, how to use this kind of magic, and now Illya improved enough to observe her Servant, at least when she could feel, that he's involved in something important.

"And if I become the strongest Master, this war will end quickly. Mother and Kiritsugu will come back, and everything will be like before." The girl smiled at the thought and caressed the slippery surface of the ball. "That's why you must try hard and never give up, Saber. I will do the same. That's why…" She yawned, trying to keep her eyes open, but, after a long day of training, she was too tired to resist the overwhelming sleepiness. "That's why…"

Illya yawned again, pressed the crystal ball tightly to her chest, and fell asleep. She smiled in her sleep, dreaming about the walnut buds in the winter forest.

* * *

"Why Saber saved you?"

Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald stared at his Servant, still a little confused after yesterday's battle. He was sitting in front of the TV in his well-protected apartment, and entertained himself with a bottle of chilled champagne.

"I don't know. I just asked him for help."

Kayneth sighed.

"There must be a reason."

"Maybe Saber is an idiot?" Archer shrugged. "History knows many idiots with great swords."

Lord El-Melloi already got used to strange comments of his Servant and did not really care. It was something innocent enough to go unpunished, and not really able to make him angry. Controlling a Servant with Independent Action skill without using a Command Spells may be difficult, so Kayneth decided to be rather cautious, to not provoke Archer to plot against him. This Heroic Soul was like his beloved yew tree: poisonous, elastic and almost impossible to break. Moreover, Archer sometimes managed to say something surprisingly logical for a simple tool, so listening to his babbling was not as pointless as it may seem.

Of course, Kayneth would never admit, that he actually considers Archer's advices. He consequently kept abusing his Servant verbally, so he would never forget his role in their team, but has not yet dared to push him any harder.

"Maybe you're an idiot to let such a perfect plan fail, Archer? You had four Servants there, to poison and defeat them all at once, and look how it ended." He sighed and sipped his champagne. "Well, it's not important anymore, I hope that you've learnt your lesson. Any clues about Saber's identity?"

"I haven't noticed anything special, except this strange shining pattern on his chest. He's a master swordsman, but most Sabers are."

There was something more, a barely visible detail. Saber was trying hard to hide it, so anyone less perceptive had no chance to notice, but Archer could clearly see, how nervous this big guy is, when someone's targeting his back. The green bowman smiled and decided to not share this observation for now.

"What's so funny, Archer?" Kayneth raised one eyebrow, careful as always.

"Nothing. But I've just come up with a brilliant idea how to improve our tactics."

"Ha, ha! You? Making plans?" Lord El-Melloi looked at his familiar with superiority. "Fine, tell me then."

"You give orders from the back, I support from the back, so we need a tough guy to fight in the front line. Yep, this would be an ideal relationship."

"Oh? You mean an alliance with Saber? And how will you convince him to accept this ridiculous offer?"

"Maybe if I just ask him nicely…"

Kayneth snorted.

"Enough of your babbling, such things should be decided between Masters. If you are so useless, I will have to challenge the Master of Tohsakas and the Master of Lancer. You may look for Master of Saber in the meantime."

"Finally you speak like a real man, Kayneth." Sola-Ui entered the room; she was clearly eavesdropping at the door. She sat on the table, crossing legs. "But what if they call their Servants for help? It would be a shame to run away with your tail between your legs. Your reputation will be damaged badly, don't you think?"

Lord El-Melloi winced, hearing Archer's insolent chuckle, but also had to admit, that Sola-Ui is right.

"Fine then. Archer, you will attack Masters, not Servants," he decided after a moment of silence.

"Master, do I look like an Assassin to you?"

They both stared at Archer, clearly doubting his sanity.

"Well, he may be a poor fighter, but at least he's funny," Sola-Ui laughed and it was another nail in the coffin of her fiancé.

"Enough fooling around, do what I told you and find Master of Saber," Kayneth growled and waved his hand dismissively. "Begone."

It was clear, that Archer has some harsh comments on the tip of his tongue, but he knew the limits of stupidity and only rolled his eyes.

"Damn aristocrats," he muttered under his breath and dematerialized with relief.

* * *

"Of all the toys Kiritsugu brought me, this one is my favorite!"

There were many things to say about Irisviel's driving skills, but Lancer kept her mouth shut. She did not really care, at least as long as Iri more or less controlled the steering wheel. Her Master's wife had too much fun driving, it would be rude to discourage her.

"Lancer, is everything all right? I mean – did that poison affect you badly?"

"I can't really say…" Arturia stopped, when another strange driving maneuver almost ended in hitting the railing. "I'm a little weakened, but I shouldn't be at a disadvantage on the battlefield. I'm only worried about Llamrei."

"I see. Don't worry, Kiritsugu will check your condition soon and he'll help you both for sure. What the…?!"

Irisviel did not hit the brakes on time, but fortunately Arturia did. The tires screeched and the car stopped just a few meters before an unexpected obstacle.

A strange man was standing on their way, the one with a bulging eyes. He gave an aura of a Servant, so both women got out of the vehicle, prepared for the worst.

"I've come for you, my dearest Unholy Virgin." The stranger bowed before them, like if expecting a warm welcome. Receiving no reaction, he added after a while: "Is it possible, that you've forgotten my face?"

"Forgotten? I've never met you." Arturia's voice was like ice, cold and colorless. "Perhaps you mistake me for someone else."

"It's me! Gilles de Rais!" The enemy Servant looked truly shaken. "I've been praying for your revival, waiting for our reunion, so we can avenge your death together, Jeanne!"

"Jeanne?" Irisviel stared at Lancer, but she only hopelessly shook her head, having no idea, what this madman wants.

"So… God is really afraid of you and our vengeance? So much to make you forget, why have you returned? How tragic! How lamentable! Curse you, God! But I'll make you remember, I'll make you awake, Unholy Virgin, my Angel of Retribution! My wish of reviving you was granted, so I won't waste this chance!"

"Irisviel, should I crush him?" The lance appeared suddenly in Arturia's hand. Lancer was clearly tired of this ridiculous conversation. "I won't let him insult me any longer. It will be a pleasure to free him from his madness."

Gilles did not believe his own ears, Arturia's rejecting attitude must have hurt his feelings.

"Has your heart been that tightly sealed, Jeanne?" His voice was full of sadness. "Very well, then. Since drastic measures are called for, I will make preparations before coming again. I swear, I will free your soul from this curse."

He bowed again and dematerialized, leaving both women confused at the road.

"It was a wise decision to run away," Lancer said, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "The ones like him infuriate me. He won't get a second chance to speak."

* * *

Archer had to admit, that he didn't expect a Saber class Servant to be this skilled in spying and deceiving his pursuers. The bowman has spent almost all day walking through the city and observing the target. Following a Servant is the best way to find his Master, right?

Well, not really. Actually, it seemed that the big guy has no Master at all.

Archer sighed, but did not complain. He was patient and observant, like a true hunter should. Waiting for the prey to make a mistake is the easiest way to win.

His perseverance has been rewarded eventually, when he spotted something interesting on Saber's back, between his shoulder blades. It was usually well hidden under his long hair, but it seemed that the nature itself favors Archer, sending the wind to his advantage.

 _A scar? A mark? Could it be…?_

There were no witnesses in this narrow alley, so Archer found the idea of performing one provocative shot extremely tempting. He was about to release an arrow, but Saber suddenly wrapped himself in a simple, grey cloak and… just disappeared from sight.

It was a nice try, indeed. Probably any other Servant, including Assassin, would be fooled by this trick. But not an Archer, with the sharpest eyes of all classes.

 _Why you're so nervous?_ Archer smiled and waited a moment, pretending that he had lost the trace. _I really don't want to find myself on the wrong side of your blade._

Now, in the evening, his prey was sitting on the roof of one of the houses in the foreigners' district of Miyama Town, observing a big, gloomy residence. Some birds were still singing and the weather was really nice, but literally nothing important happened during his watch. Archer, already bored to death, considered taking a nap, when Saber said suddenly:

"You may join me, I'm not going to attack you."

Archer clenched his teeth. What should he do? Show up and befriend the guy, so he himself will lead the bowman to his Master? Actually, it may work. Kayneth did not specify, how Archer should do the job. Only the result matters to him.

"How did you know that I'm here?" Archer left his hideout and appeared on the roof.

"This tiny blue bird betrayed you." Siegfried glanced at the nearest tree. He couldn't hold back his smile. "He's been chirping all the time: 'Ro-bin! Ro-bin is cu-te!' and such."

Archer's face turned red, like if he was about to explode.

"H-how?!" He scratched his head, embarrassed. "Aaaah, I knew that birds are the worst gossips… What a stupid little creature." He sighed. "So you understand the language of birds. And you have the Cloak of Invisibility, not as powerful as mine, though... Not typical for a Saber class, but it seems that not only my legend is totally crazy. Anyway, I think I know who you are."

"And I know who you are as well. The question is: what we're going to do with our knowledge?"

Archer sighed again, not really sure, how to answer, and sat down next to Saber. The red sunset were slowly changing into a deep blue of the falling night. The next round in the war was about to start soon.

"What a difficult guy you are… And why are you so confident, huh? I may stab you at any moment."

"It's not as easy as you may think," Siegfried said calmly, it was not a bragging or threat, just a statement of obvious fact. "Besides, birds don't like evil people. This little blue buddy won't serve the man, who stabs his allies in the back."

"A-allies?" Archer's jaw dropped, literally. Who's deceiving whom right now? "Hey, it's not that I owe you or something!"

"Of course not." Saber smiled. It was not clear, if he's serious or not right now, it could be an advanced sarcasm as well. "But you liked being saved, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I felt like a damn princess!" Archer rolled his eyes. He did not expect this conversation to take such unexpected turn. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Saber stared at the residence below, which belonged to the Matou family. All lights turned on suddenly, so two Servants could easily notice every detail inside from their vantage point.

"Just look at the corridor on the first floor. Three, two, one… Here she comes."

At this moment the door on the right opened and a little girl with a violet hair came out of the room. She was moving slowly, lifeless, like a machine or rather a pretty but broken doll. Her eyes were empty, even no pain remained in her gaze, just a calm resignation.

"She suffers," Archer said and Siegfried nodded. He had exactly the same opinion about it.

"It seems that every evening is the same. She's heading to the basement. I have no idea, what's going on down there, but I expect nothing good from the family, who had summoned Berserker."

"Oh? So you're after Berserker when everyone else is trying to hunt down Caster?"

"Not really. I've just found a trace by accident yesterday and ended up observing this house, that's all. But Master of Berserker did not enter the building, he was just standing over there, watching the girl. I guess that he prefers hiding in the canals like a rat."

"Don't underestimate rats." Robin was surprisingly serious this time. "They're intelligent and can be dangerous, when cornered and forced to fight back." The girl vanished from their sight and the corridor was empty now, but no one inside bothered to turn off the light. "Berserker rather won't come home with his Master, so what's the point in sitting here? You can't help the girl anyway."

Saber did not answer, but there was something disturbing in his gaze. Robin quickly realized, that Siegfried doesn't know words like 'can't' or 'impossible', after all he was known as a hero, who has never been defeated. Archer sighed heavily, suspecting what's coming.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you? The heroic type, who's thinking he's going to save everyone. A tough guy with the biggest sword and the smallest brain. Aaaah, I really hate your kind!"

Siegfried ignored him completely, lost in thoughts. It seemed that he had made a decision already, but needed more information and a good plan to follow.

"You're truly insane. And I was going to offer you an alliance, stupid me…" Archer hopelessly shook his head, stood up and looked at the distant forest. "Fine, sit here as long as you like, but I'll be going now. Caster is heading to the Einzbern castle and my Master has just ordered me to ambush him. No fun, only work, work, work…" He put on his hood and checked his weapons, preparing for battle. "This Master is hopeless. He really wants to get additional Command Spell at all costs. He's fixated on power and likes controlling others. Cursed aristocratic complex of superiority! I'll be waiting for a moment, when he'll finally fall from his high chair and damage his head. Not that there will be any visible difference in his behavior after that…"

"You hate his kind too?" Archer's constant babbling made Saber laugh. Perhaps he just liked the guy.

"Definitely. So, see you later."

"Wait. I'm going too." Saber stood up in one swift movement, took the keys out of his pocket and shook them in the air. "Give you a lift?"

* * *

Thank You for reading! Your comments and ideas help me a lot, You're the best!


	6. 6: Your Orders, Master?

**6: Your Orders, Master?**

 _Irisviel fell on her knees and shivered, not able to defend herself from what was coming._

* * *

It seemed that Archer had not lied about the poison – he's not able to neutralize it and even his death would not help to heal Llamrei. The magic used to produce this toxin was a mixture of Alchemy and Necromancy, two of Kayneth's El-Melloi Archibald specializations.

"Well, he's a man of many talents," Emiya admitted reluctantly after examining the mare.

"But she can be healed?"

Irisiviel gently touched Lancer's arm to comfort her.

"Of course. But we'll need some time before she recovers completely. And it's better not to ride into battle in her current state."

"I'm glad to hear it." Arturia nodded, much calmer than before. She followed her Master to the big room on the second floor of the castle.

They all gathered there to discuss their tactics. Kiritsugu showed them map with possible future locations of the Grail and decided, that facing Caster head-on is unnecessary. They should rather focus on avoiding him and eliminating other Masters during this mess. Arturia eventually agreed with her Master, although she preferred to finish the fiend off as soon as possible, mostly for the sake of kidnapped children, but also for her own pride.

And then the situation changed diametrically, when Caster assaulted the Einzbern territory, bringing the group of hostages with him.

"There they are," said Irisviel, staring into the crystal ball. Behind her back, Maiya and Kiritsugu prepared their weapons.

"The enemy is provoking us." Lancer was ready to act. "I'll go and give him, what he wants."

At this moment Caster smiled to them through the glass, well aware of the fact, that he's observed.

"As promised last night, I, Gilles de Rais, have come to see my beautiful Unholy Virgin. I've brought the first offering with me, so she will remember, why she's here. We may later entertain ourselves together, just like this..."

He dispelled the charm, woke the children up, and explained the creepy 'survival game' to them, crushing the skull of the random boy just for show. The rest of the hostages dispersed, screaming out of fear.

"Your orders, Master?"

Emiya remained silent. He clearly did not like the idea of letting this mad Servant do as he pleases, but there were too many arguments against letting Lancer go to the forest in her current condition.

Arturia must have understood his doubts, because she explained calmly:

"Master, their lives are the most valuable things they have. I was a king once, able to decide, which lives must be sacrificed for the greater good, but I am no more. As far as I know, you're not their king either. That's why I suggest to let me crush Caster. If there is a possibility to spare lives, it's only logical to do so. Their deaths are unnecessary and clearly against the rules of the Holy Grail War."

Kiritsugu did not expect this kind of argumentation from Lancer. It was not what he expected from this version of King of Knights. Also, it reminded him of a certain idealistic swordsman in their team.

"You shouldn't speak with Saber so often…"

"I don't know what you mean, Master."

He sighed, having no time or mood for explanations.

"Anyway, how do you intent do fight without Llamrei?"

"Rhongomyniad is a spear like any other." The lance appeared in Arturia's hand. "I can fight on foot as well. Probably only my Noble Phantasm will not work at full power, but I suppose I won't be needing it in this fight."

Emiya was visibly hesitant. This weapon was heavy and unwieldy, not to mention, that it would probably lose at least half of its hitting power without a mount.

"Master." There was something dangerous in Arturia's voice and gaze right now, not yet a threat, but an icy stubbornness. "If you don't believe in strength of your Servant, let me show it. I'll destroy that fiend with ease."

"Kiritsugu?" Irisviel's eyes were full of hope, she clearly wanted to save the children.

Emiya only glanced at Iri, but she knew him well enough to understand this silent message.

"Lancer, defeat Caster!"

"I shall!"

* * *

"So, you go fight and will support you from the shadows. Yeah, sounds like a perfect plan for me."Archer stood up; it seemed that keeping balance on the motorcycle during a ride is not a problem for him. Actually, he was more agile than any circus acrobat. "I'll be going. I need some time for preparations. The forest is my domain, but still…"

"One more thing. Remember, that you're here to fight Caster, not the Einzberns."

"Of course! What do you take me for?"

Siegfried laughed, watching Robin, who just swiftly jumped on the nearest tree branch and disappeared from sight.

Driving through the forest at night is not a very good idea, but with Saber's skills it was almost a pleasure. At least until he spotted the blood on the branches. Next was a little hand on the grass. And a crushed head nearby.

"What the…"

The sounds of fighting became louder with each passing meter. Siegfried was getting closer to the improvised battlefield, but he could barely focus on the upcoming duel. The images of massacred children filled his mind, making his blood boil. It was something he couldn't forget or forgive.

 _Easy, don't let your anger control you._ He took a deep breath to calm down. _Turn it into power to defeat your enemies. Just like… that!_

With a swing of a sword, powered by mana blast and impetus of the braking vehicle, he destroyed the nearest anemone-like monsters around Arturia. Unfortunately, this strike did not reach Caster, who summoned more of his demonic minions and used them as his shield.

"You're late," Lancer said shortly. She did not stop piercing and smashing the creatures, which kept reappearing instantly. Their regeneration ability was far beyond average. Saber quickly realized, what's the real problem in fighting them. "Maybe we should buy you a cell phone?"

"Sorry." Siegfried was already next to Arturia. With their powers and range combined, no more tentacles could break through. "And it sounds like a good solution, to be honest."

"Who are you?!" To say, that Caster was furious, would be an understatement.

"Lancer, should we tell him? After all, we're the last persons he'll ever see."

"I think he did not deserve it. I won't give my name to a filthy beast."

"Well said."

Two warriors unleashed hell together. The creatures couldn't harm Saber in any way, but he had to be cautious to not get wrapped in too many tentacles and immobilized. It was only a matter of time for them to reach Caster. Also he should run out of his magical energy soon…

It seemed that Arturia was also enjoying this back to back fight. She even dispelled her helmet and parts of armor, probably because of their weight, which may be troublesome for a foot soldier.

"What's with that smirk?" – Siegfried asked, seeing Lancer's face.

"Nothing." She smiled even wider. "You're the only one, who's not commenting on my fighting style today."

"Why should I? Every swordsman can use a spear, more or less efficiently, so I can tell what you can do with this lance. And don't get so cocky, I can use my sword with one hand too. I'm not yet impressed."

"Well said."

* * *

The door literally exploded and an elegant man slowly entered the castle.

"I, the ninth head of the Archibald family, Kayneth El-Melloi, have come. Einzbern Mage, let us duel for the Grail with our lives and our honor!"

There was no response to his challenge, so he proceeded through the empty hall. Many traps exploded around him, but they were all stopped by his favorite weapon, Volumen Hydrargyrum.

"You have really fallen so low, Einzbern, to rely on such petty tricks? Very well. This will be an extermination."

* * *

Irisviel stared at the castle with a worried expression. Kiritsugu has been left alone to fight with the enemy magus and she really didn't like this idea.

"Madam, please hurry." Maiya, even if she had some doubts, did not show them, reserved as always.

Another electric-like shock came across Irisviel's body, informing her about an intruder, but this time she smiled. Maiya raised an eyebrow, waiting for explanation.

"Saber is here." Iri couldn't hide the fact, that she likes and trust this Servant, probably even more than Arturia. "And he's brought someone with him."

"Good. Now we don't have to worry about Lancer and her condition."

"So it seems. Ugh!" Iri winced, struck by another impulse. "This time…"

"What's wrong, Madam?" Seeing Irisviel's frightened face, Maiya instinctively prepared her weapon.

"The one who's coming is… Kirei Kotomine."

Two women looked at each other in silence, knowing, what has to be done.

Kirei Kotomine, the one enemy Kiritsugu did not want to face, was after him. It was only natural for Irisviel and Maiya to do what they can to stop him.

* * *

"His mana…."

"Yes."

"So we should…"

"Yes."

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Lancer." Saber chuckled. It was probably the shortest discussion about tactics he has ever had.

To end the battle quickly one of them must use a Noble Phantasm, while the other keeps the tentacles at bay. Siegfried was not very happy about the idea of revealing his identity here and now. He should guard Arturia's back instead, but something deep in the forest disturbed him. It was noisy out there, first he could hear gunshots, and now a dull, heavy sounds, like if someone was trying to knock down a tree with his bare hands.

"Forgive me, Lancer, I have a bad feeling about it." He dematerialized in a great hurry.

"Wait!" Arturia frowned angrily. She would be forced to face Caster and his monsters alone, which would probably lead to nothing. Not to mention, that Saber betrayed her at the crucial moment again...

"Hey, don't worry, Iron Lady." The voice, which echoed between the trees, sounded familiar. "Give the fish-eyed bastard what he deserves, I'll cover you!"

As if to confirm Archer's words, the rain of arrows has fallen at Caster and his little slimy friends. The toxin somehow slowed down their regeneration and even summoning process, but this effect would probably not last for long.

"Go!"

Arturia needed no encouragement. Her lance was already raised to the strike, swirling like a creepy drill, and gathering dark energy into a form of miniature tornado. It was far from the actual power of the weapon, but Lancer suspected, that no more is needed to get rid of this fiend.

"Rhongo-myniad!"

"What?" Caster could say no more, hit by the purple wave of magic. This small blast was enough to wipe him out, along with his partially summoned army of monsters.

* * *

Two women could only helplessly look at the falling tree. Kotomine, now free of Iri's magical strings, slowly walked up to Maiya.

"Bastard!" She was still fighting, trying to shoot him, but a strong kick in the throat excluded her from the battle.

Irisviel fell on her knees and shivered, not able to defend herself from what was coming.

"Is that all you can do? Kick defenseless women?"

Unexpected strike of the great sword almost blew Kotomine away. Despite his inhuman reflex and speed, Executor could not dodge this attack on time. Only a sacrifice of one of his Assassins, who took the blow on his unprotected chest, saved Kirei from an immediate death. The masked Servant disappeared in a cloud of blood and mana, literally cut in half.

"S-Saber…" Irisviel was surprised and grateful, but also scared. Siegfried's eyes were shining with a strange, cold light. She didn't expect to see such bloodlust in the gaze of this calm, good-natured warrior. It was obvious, that he would not show mercy to this enemy. This was the look he has for evil monsters.

"Lady Irisviel, forgive me for coming too late. Please take Miss Maiya with you and retreat."

She nodded and did what he said. Saber did not wait and charged at the enemy Master.

 _How did he break through your guard?_ Kirei was focused on defense, throwing at Saber one Black Key after another, but this question bothered him too much to just ignore it.

 _Forgive us, Master. We didn't see him coming._

That was another interesting information, but there was no time to think longer about it, Kirei had a more serious problem. His Black Keys would not stop an enraged Saber class Servant, it was a job for Assassins.

 _We will secure your retreat_ , _Master_ , one of them said and a rain of daggers fell down at Saber, forcing him to stop and block them. _Should we defeat the enemy or only slow him down?_

Kotomine, now relatively safe, quickly considered both options. In this environment Saber was at disadvantage, there were too many possibilities for Assassin to hide, surround him and strike from all possible directions at once.

 _Try to eliminate him. But withdraw if it's not possible._

 _Understood._

* * *

Kayneth was pursuing Emiya through the empty corridors, bleeding heavily from the wound on his shoulder and activating every single trap on his way. He just couldn't believe that such a scum managed to break through his defense. This insult cannot go unpunished.

He found his opponent at the highest floor and their usual 'battle' began.

"You don't think that the same trick will work twice, do you?" Kayneth smiled viciously, safe and untouched by the bullets behind the curtain of mercury.

Kiritsugu did not answer. He was about to unleash his ultimate attack and take lord El-Melloi down with his Origin Bullet, but something sharp hit his hand. He growled painfully and almost dropped the rifle.

"Hey, Master! I'm taking you away from here." Archer materialized between fighting magi. "Lancer may show up at any moment, let's hurry."

Emiya stepped back, but the enemy Servant clearly had no intention to attack him. Robin only grabbed his surprised Master, when he lowered his Volumen Hydrargyrum, and escaped with him through the broken window. He stopped far away in the forest, beyond the reach of Lancer or her Master.

"Why have you interrupted my duel, Archer!" Kayneth did not look happy at all. He probably did not realize, that his life has just been saved. "I told you to go after Caster!"

"The fight is over," Robin explained simply. "You were in danger, Master. Actually, you still are."

"So you defeated Caster?"

"He was damaged badly and disappeared, so I can't really tell." Archer shrugged. "That Lancer is scary. You should retreat, Master."

"But, fortunately, her Master is an amateur, a small fry, who had just enough luck to scratch me in this round."

 _Yes, this extremely lucky amateur almost killed you_. Robin tried hard to remain silent and even looked away, to not provoke lord El-Melloi any further.

"Master, you should retreat," he only repeated emphatically and checked his weapons, preparing for the next battle.

"Where do you think you're going, Archer?"

"To help Saber. Our plan was to…"

"What?! 'Your plan'?" This short sentence became a trigger to activate all the worst of Kayneth's personality, including his galloping paranoia. "You made a pact with the enemy behind my back? Without my permission?! How dare you decide about such things?!"

"You ordered me to find Master of Saber. It was the best way…"

"Then show me the results! Where's his Master?" Heavy silence was the only answer and it enraged Kayneth even more. "At least tell me that you know, how to defeat him! I'm sure that you're hiding something from me. Maybe you're plotting against me with Saber, huh? 'Rescuing me' forcibly was part of the plan?"

Robin clenched his teeth, cursing his own naiveté and bad luck. Kayneth wasn't a person to reason with right now. Maybe it's because of a blood loss or he just does not know failure and defeat?

"Master, I suggest…" – he tried, really politely, to stop this madness.

"How dare you instruct me?!" He got an attack of mindless fury in response. "Damned Archer class and its Independent Action skill! You asked for it, I'll tell you what kind of plan we're going to follow now! By the power of my Command Spell…"

Archer stepped back, not really sure, how to react.

"Master, please reconsider this!"

"…I, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, order you…"

"Master, I beg you!"

"Oh? You – begging me? Ha, ha, ha! So I hit the spot? You won't have an ally against me and you won't ever hide any information for yourself again. Shut up!" Kayneth clenched his fist and almost hit his Servant, when he tried to interrupt again. "By the power of my Command Spell I order you…"

When he finished, a circle of red light reached Archer and forced him to obey. Having no other choice, the green Servant turned around and ran through the forest, to ambush his prey.

* * *

Siegfried held his breath, focused as much as he could, his sword at the level of his eyes, his senses sharpened to the maximum. He was at disadvantage, surrounded by an invisible enemies, but did not intend to give ground.

First daggers came straight to his face, to blind or at least distract him. He blocked them with his metal glove. Although these blades couldn't really hurt Saber, he decided to keep his invulnerability secret as long as possible. Revealing it just like that may provoke Assassin to actively search for his weak point.

Another moment of silence, then a sound of throwing weapons from the right, and a try to stab Siegfried with a short sword from the left. Turn, block, turn, block. Saber was moving mechanically, trusting his skills. The fool, who attacked him openly, quickly regretted this decision, when his severed arm flew into the bushes. The next one, with two strange daggers, fell on the ground just a moment later, with his head crushed by Balmung's hilt.

Some attacks were prepared only to lure Saber into a trap, others to tire him or make him lose focus. Faster, faster, one blow after another. Assassin class Servant, along with an Archer class, is Siegfried's worst nightmare, so he wondered, how much longer he would last.

Then a thin dagger hit his back, just a few centimeters from this cursed mark. It was not an accident. Someone missed the target on purpose. Then all Assassins retreated, leaving Siegfried startled between the trees. It was really strange, like if the enemy has suddenly changed his plans and left a message before departure.

'I could have killed you,' it said.

"Then why you didn't?" – Saber asked, but no one answered.

A long while passed before Siegfried let himself relax a little and lower his sword. The forest was quiet, with no signs of enemy Servants nearby. Maybe even too quiet.

"Saber!"

His eyes widened. He was sure, that he had just heard Illya's voice, but how is it even possible?

And then he understood. It was a barely noticeable feeling, the slightest movement of the air, the distant swish, like a sound of a feather flying with the wind.

An arrow was coming from behind, straight to Saber's back. He cannot dodge it. He cannot block it. He has no time to run or even turn around. It's pointless. It's already too close, it's moving too fast for any reaction.

Whatever he tries to do, he won't make it on time.


	7. 7: A Mother's Wish

So here comes the next chapter, a little different this time. I hope You will like it. And it would be nice to know your opinions.

Thank You for reading! Special thanks to **hyperomegasonic26** for his inspiring ideas!

Also please check a poll about this story on my profile.

* * *

 **7: A Mother's Wish**

 _It's a simple mechanism – it's not written, so it doesn't exist._

* * *

 _Where…?_

He's been shot, for sure. The arrow hit the mark on his back and it hurts as hell, even now. It must have been a poisoned missile, because it feels like his skin was burnt by boiling water.

Saber found himself on his knees in a strange, small room, within the circle of vanishing magical energy. Red eyes, filled with tears, and a beautiful smile of the little girl, were all he could see now.

"Saber! So it worked! I'm so happy!"

Illya clung to him, barely able to embrace his neck with her small arms.

 _I see. So the voice back then… it was a Command Spell._

"Master, please don't cry. Everything's all right. I'm sorry for being careless."

"It's not your fault. You did well."

"Hmm." He did not know what to say. Her hug was so affectionate, her voice full of joy… Siegfried realized, how much he missed his little Master. He closed his eyes, hugged her tight and said quietly: "Thank you for saving me."

"Um, this is my duty as a Master." After a long while Illyasviel stepped back, wiped away the tears and smiled, standing straight and tall. She was adorable in this adult pose. "And now, if you're already here, don't even think of leaving me again!"

There were many things to say: that they must go with the plan, that it's dangerous and her parents will be angry, that there's no time for childish whims during the Holy Grail War. But he remained silent. He just didn't want to argue with Illya in this matter. Maybe it was reckless or selfish, but he could feel, from the first moment they met, that his place is by his Master's side.

"I will gladly assist my Master in everything she plans," he replied simply.

"Um, this is great! Nights are for fighting, right? So we can do what we want during the day!" Illya smiled widely, it was obvious, that she had already decided, what she's going to do with her Servant.

Saber smiled too, moved by her enthusiasm, but also sighed internally. Knowing his bad luck, it will be a very long day.

* * *

"Master, have you ever thought about what sleeps within the Holy Grail?" – Lancer asked him once.

Back then Kiritsugu had no idea, what she's talking about, so Arturia cut off the discussion. Later very strange dreams began to haunt him. One was about a cave under the mountain, next about a desperate desire to be born. And the most disturbing one was the nightmare about all the evil in the world.

Today Kiritsugu had a dream about a hole in the sky. It opened suddenly and a black mud came from it, covering the streets with fire and death. It spread like a flood and Emiya could do nothing, but watch it and despair.

 _Servants come from different timelines, it may be a pure fantasy. There's no need to worry about some strange nightmares –_ the rational, dominant part of his mind said.

 _But all those illogical events definitely took place in Fuyuki. If this is something, which can be investigated, it would be unwise to ignore it_ – the paranoiac side did not want to give up so easily.

Kiritsugu slowly opened his eyes and found himself on the floor, with his head on Maiya's lap. The castle, devastated after Kayneth's attack, was not a pleasant place to take a nap. He must have been really tired to sleep so well here.

"Where's Iri?"

"Madam has left with Lancer about an hour ago."

"Why?" Kiritsugu raised an eyebrow, waiting for explanation. Maiya was in a surprisingly good mood today, this smile was totally not like her.

"Just look at the screen." She moved the laptop closer, so he did not have to get up.

Emiya blinked, not believing his own eyes.

"What in the world they're doing?"

* * *

"Master, are you sure you're not too young for such video games?"

"You're saying that only because I won!"

"No! You really think so bad of your Servant?"

"Only when you're cheating! And call me Illya."

"I'm not cheating, Ma…"

"It's an order."

"I'm not cheating, Illya."

Irisviel blinked and looked questioningly at Lancer, but she only shrugged, equally surprised. Both women sneaked quietly into the room and froze, stunned by the view.

It was truly hilarious. Saber was sitting on the floor, dressed in a colorful traditional Japanese clothes. Illya sat behind him on the pile of pillows, so she could make strange things with Siegfried's hair - it's already been tied in many braids, various styles and lengths, also a pink ribbon was woven into one of them. Master and her Servant were playing a video game and eating a lot of sweets. Empty plates were lying literally everywhere. It was a clear evidence of their crime, but the two had no intention to plead guilty to it.

Iri could not hold back her laughter any longer, Arturia gave up a moment later.

"Well, well… We've been worried about you, but you are just having fun together!"

"Mother!" Illyasviel slid off the pillows and rushed to Iri with a happy smile on her face.

Although his Master did not seem worried at all, Siegfried was not very happy about the fact, that he's been caught in the act.

"Lady Irisviel, Lancer." He stood up immediately and bowed slightly, not only to welcome them, but also to hide his embarrassment. "I've thought it's too dangerous for you to come here?"

"Relax, we've been extra cautious." Irisiviel could not stop cuddling her daughter, she was really happy to see her. "But I can see that we're too late." She looked at the mess with a strange expression. "You really ate the whole cheesecake?"

Illyasviel blushed and glanced at Saber, asking for his help.

"Well… I'm the one to blame." He scratched his head, clearly not able to come up with a good alibi. "Sorry, but you can't call yourself a real man if you don't like cheesecake."

He said is so honestly, that Iri chuckled, no longer angry at them. Behind her back Sella sighed heavily.

"This is what happens when you leave them alone for a while."

"A-do-ra-ble," Leysritt said, sneaking into the room. Sella gave her a very strange look and almost shut the door right in her face.

"I guess it can't be helped." Iri gently caressed her daughter's hair. "But you can't eat sweets all day, Illya."

"Um. But I'm still hungry. Oh, I know!" She clapped her hands, proud of her own idea. "Let's order a pizza!"

Arturia's face brightened at this suggestion, her eyes were shining like two golden stars.

"Irisviel, can I get a hamburger?"

"Are you sure? It's a junk food…"

"That's why it's perfect for me. It makes me stronger. You won't regret it, Irisviel."

The way she said it, totally serious and determined, made them all smile. Well, all except Sella, who was clearly frustrated by the fact, how low the discipline in this house has fallen. Leysritt, on the other hand, found this chaos amusing and was ready to join their little party.

"A-do-ra-ble," she said again and Irisviel agreed.

"Yes, especially Saber. Illya, you know that men here usually don't wear such colorful clothes?"

"But he looks cute!" She grasped her Servant's hand, to show that she's proud of her work and regrets nothing.

Surprisingly, Siegfried was the one to defend Illya this time.

"I will gladly wear any outfit my Master prepares for me. It's an honor, not a shame, I would even go into battle like this."

He bowed slightly, in a knightly manner. It must have reminded Arturia something from her past, because she looked at Saber with respect and gave him a thin, mysterious smile.

"I would feel… uncomfortable, if I had to fight you right now," she admitted. It was not clear, if she's trying to help or just makes fun of him.

"See? You should try it to, Lancer. If it intimidates an enemy, it will be quite effective in battle. You would look incredible in a flower dress. Especially one part of your body is incredible."

"Better not." The smile she gave him was like a silent warning. "And I advise you to abandon this topic, or even a cheeseburger won't save you from my lance in your chest."

Siegfried tilted his head.

"Two cheeseburgers?" He winked, not scared at all.

Arturia rolled her eyes and left the room, but Saber was almost sure, that three cheeseburgers will make her try on every dress, and he decided to check this theory later.

* * *

"To think that his Master is a little girl… Unbelievable." Archer did not really know what to do with this unexpected discovery.

Being sure, that the enemy is already dead, Kayneth ordered Robin to find and kill Saber's Master, so he won't summon another Servant. First part of this task was too easy - tracking the big guy, when his skin's burning constantly from magical poison, did not take much time. Archer observed the house almost all day, waiting for the best moment to launch an attack. He had more than few occasions to do so, but…

"Hell no! I've not been summoned here to kill children."

Robin sighed heavily. Lord El-Melloi will probably use another lie-detecting spell on him, so he must come up with an explanation for this disobedience in the meantime. But he won't snipe an innocent child, it was just wrong.

A barely noticeable movement on the nearest tree alarmed Archer. He spotted a slim figure in black, a spy, who was trying to withdraw in a great hurry.

"Assassin, huh? Hmm, this one probably won't hesitate and just eliminate the little one." The green bowman looked at the intruder, then back at the house, not yet sure what to do. "Damn it, you should be more careful, big guy. And curse you for making me so soft and all…"

It was a good feeling - to be trusted, even if this heroic idiot with great sword was the only person to show him such trust. But then his insane Master had to ruin everything with his stupid order, making Archer act like a traitor.

Keeping a secret was the best thing Robin could do for Saber, so he decided to hunt Assassin down. Getting rid of the intruder, before he can share the knowledge about this location with his allies, was the only way to protect this cute little girl.

Servant in black was moving quickly, jumping from branch to branch with agility of a monkey. But Robin followed him with ease, quiet and deadly like a wild cat going after his prey.

"Fool. If you escaped to the town, you would have a chance. But in the woods you're already dead."

Making sure that there are no witnesses nearby, Archer sent one arrow after the spy – it did not hit him, but fell between his feet. The masked Servant turned around, not knowing, what's going on. Then the ground around him exploded. The roots of a yew tree caught and crushed Assassin with enormous power. Robin watched it in silence – after a short while no trace left of the unlucky scout.

"It's not that I owe you or something, big guy…" He sighed, but then smiled, remembering Saber and his Master, doing very stupid things and enjoying it to the fullest. "Just be more careful and guard her well, ok?"

* * *

"Sleep well, Sweetheart." Irisviel kissed Illya goodnight. It was already late, it was dangerous to stay here together any longer.

"Um, I will. Since Saber is with me, I no longer have bad dreams." She smiled and hugged her favorite teddy bear. "Remember, Mother? Those dreams about seven lumps inside me. I'm not scared anymore."

"I'm glad to hear it." Iri was surprised, but also happy. She gently caressed Illya's hair. "What kind of dreams do you have now?"

"Last night there were many people in my dreams. They thanked me and were very happy. I felt like a hero." She yawned, tired after a day full of sweets, laughing and other crazy stuff. "Will you take my Saber to war tonight? He needs to be healed first."

She sounded so sad and worried, that Irisviel had no heart to take Siegfried away from her, at least not yet. She took a deep breath, imagining Kiritsugu's reaction. He will be angry, probably, but still…

"I think that nothing will happen if Saber stays with you a little longer."

* * *

Kariya Matou did not understand, why nobody is fighting tonight.

He was walking slowly through the town, barely able to move his feet. Berserker kept draining him badly, so he had to end the war as soon as possible. Every night was precious for Matou magus, but it seemed that other Masters were not so desperate.

"I know, they all hide from my Servant, cowards." He coughed painfully and spit a few worms with blood. "I'll find you and kill you all, I have no time to waste."

In a narrow, stinky alley Kariya stumbled on something wet and cold. It made a strange, splashy sound, so he instinctively stepped back and take a closer look at this mysterious object.

"S-sakura… Sakura?!"

The girl was probably the same age and had almost identical hairstyle, but the similarities ended there. Her long dead eyes stared empty at the sky, her dress was stained with blood. The corpse was wrapped in some ugly tentacles, which were still moving, devouring every inch of flesh and soul of their victim.

Not able to control his rage, Kariya ordered his flying insects to attack. They tore the slimy monsters to pieces in an instant.

But more creatures hid in the alley. They were crawling on the sidewalk, searching for a new prey. Even not experienced magus could tell, that someone has sent them to feed upon people. Another filthy, corrupted mage was using children to satisfy his sick desires.

Kariya shivered. He did not like it. It must be stopped. This girl was just like Sakura. She was Sakura... Every child, who suffers from magic, is Sakura.

"Berserker! Kill!"

* * *

"Do you have a moment to talk with me, Saber?"

Siegfried has not dematerialized yet. He was sitting near the lamp in the corner of the room and seemed to be very busy.

"Of course, Lady Irisviel." He hid something under the pillow, but Iri pretended to not notice.

"Could you show me this wound? Illya asked me to check it." Siegfried nodded and turned around obediently. "Does it hurt?" It looked like something truly painful, but Irisviel wanted to make sure before preparing the best spell.

"Not really, it's just a scratch." Saber smiled, but then tensed and hissed through his teeth, when Iri pressed the skin around the injury.

"You're a poor liar." As expected, her healing magic could only ease the pain, this curse was really troublesome. "I'm sorry, I can't help you."

"It's fine, thank you. And it's not affecting my fighting potential in any way, so it's nothing, really."

"You should take better care of yourself, Illya will be sad if something bad happens to you. And… Oh my, your hair is all tangled!" She chuckled, trying to unravel a crazy strand. "You really like children, do you? In some stories it's said that you had a son?"

Surprisingly, Siegfried saddened at this question and remained silent for a long while.

"Saber? Did I say something wrong?"

"No. It's me… It's that…" He sighed. "I don't know."

"Huh?" That was interesting. "Why?"

"Lady Irisviel, you probably know that there are many versions of my legend." He showed her the object, which he hid under the pillow. It was a book, 'The Nibelungenlied'. "I hope Miss Sella won't be angry at me for borrowing this. Anyway… I'm confused."

"Why is that?"

"This story is not even about me, but about two women and their vengeance. It looks like this Sigurd guy from other stories was the real thing. Under this name I'm nothing more than a fictional character, created by people's wishes, mostly to grant more of their wishes. This is probably the reason, why I can't remember anything like family life or even killing a dragon. Because it never happened. It's a simple mechanism – it's not written, so it doesn't exist." He stared at the book, hoping that the answers to his questions are hidden somewhere in the text. "It's not that I really care, but… somehow I feel guilty for having fun today. I have no right to enjoy my time here with Illya." Even the sound of his Master's name brought a warm smile to Siegfried's face. "It would be a lot easier for a Servant to be only an emotionless tool, truly. I know my place, please forgive me for forgetting it today."

Irisviel needed a moment to understand his way of thinking. After a short while she took the book from his hand and put it in a trash can. Siegfried looked at her questioningly.

"You always think so much about unnecessary things?" She sighed. "I'm sure that this story was based on a life of a real person. You are here and you are real. We know who you are, we trust you and like to spend our time with you. Because we know what's in your soul." Her smile was stunningly beautiful. "I'm glad that Illya has a friend like you."

"F-friend?"

"Yes, more than just a Servant or an ally. You're her friend already." She smiled again, but her hands were shaking with hidden emotions. "If not this accidental summoning, she would be left in that castle, lonely, scared, treated like a magical experiment. She would probably spend all her life there, if... If we fail, she will…" She took a deep breath to calm down. "I want her to go outside, make friends, live normal and happy life, like I never could. That's why I support Kiritsugu with all my heart. So Illya will be safe."

"Is that your wish, Lady Irisviel?"

The way he said it, something in his voice and gaze, make Irisviel feel uncomfortable.

"I have no right to have a wish for the Grail. It's not my role in this war."

"I didn't mean the Grail, but the true desire of your heart."

"Well… Yes, I think you're right, Saber." She looked him in the eyes. "This is what every mother wants for her child. It's also my wish. But why do you ask?"

He closed his eyes and smiled.

"For no particular reason, really." Again, the tone of his voice did not match the words. "I just think that this is a beautiful wish, Lady Irisviel. The one really worth fighting for."


	8. 8: A Promising Cooperation

**8: A Promising Cooperation**

 _"_ _Ha, ha, ha! Wonderful! There's still a chance that I will get a decent duel in this war."_

* * *

"Kirei, have you just lost another one of your spies?"

Kotomine did not expect Gilgamesh to reside in his private room. Executor froze at the door, seeing the King of Heroes lying shamelessly on his sofa and drinking his wine without asking permission.

"Why do you think so?"

"Your face." The golden-haired Servant shrugged. "You looked exactly the same when Saber slaughtered almost half of your little army."

Kirei winced at the memory of the fight in the forest. It was a humiliating defeat. The difference in strength between Saber and Kotomine's Servant was preposterous. To think that such power belonged to a Master, who doesn't really need it… What a waste!

"Why are you here and not with Tokiomi?"

"He's avoiding me. Probably he's afraid that I'm going to kill him," his guest answered simply, as if it was just an unimportant detail.

Kotomine raised one eyebrow, not sure what to think about it.

"And you may kill your Master?"

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes and completely ignored this last question.

"Mongrels are not fighting each other, I'll soon be bored to death." He sighed, changing the topic.

"Oh? Aren't they all pursuing Caster? Rider and Berserker are fighting him right now."

"I'm not a pig Kirei, I don't like bathe in mud." Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed, but he seemed to be too bored to get angry. "It's a mongrel's job to hunt bugs, not mine. So, which Servant killed your spy?"

"I'm not really sure. It was a surprise attack, so maybe Archer. Anyway, I think I saw Master of Saber, but…"

"But?" Now Gilgamesh was really interested, his eyes were shining again and the boredom, which was clearly visible in his moves, disappeared completely.

"It seems that his Master is a little girl, one of the Einzbern's homunculi, but still a child. Strange."

"Ha, ha, ha! Wonderful! There's still a chance that I will get a decent duel in this war."

Kotomine thought, that it's rather quick and unexpected change of mood, but did not comment it in any way.

"You've seemed to be disappointed with Saber last time, after the battle in the harbor?"

"He showed me nothing back then. There's no way I could be satisfied with something such half-hearted, Kirei." Gilgamesh sipped some wine, threw his head back and laughed again. "This type must be cornered, like a wild beast, to show his full potential. Although it's incredibly childish, that little girl may be a trigger to unleash his power. I want to see him raging, helplessly and desperately, defending his Master. In such circumstances he may be able to entertain me. A little."

Kotomine did not know what to think about it. He understood such reasoning, but his own feelings surprised him. How could he find it exciting? It was an evil plot, for nothing else, but a twisted pleasure... Why he wanted to assist and even join King of Heroes in this kind of 'entertainment'?

Not yet ready to consider his new sensation, Kirei only asked:

"And what about Lancer? You said that she's worth your time."

"Ah, this one is interesting, but a lot easier to handle." Gilgamesh swirled the wine, watching his own reflection in the glass. "She's the one who crushes every obstacle on her way. Just like that. The only thing I need to do is to stand between her and her goal when she almost reaches it."

"I see." A strange shade crossed Executor's face, when he took a seat next to his guest. "So you're really are here only to have fun and mess around with other Heroic Spirits."

"You don't like it? What should I want? The Grail, which is already mine, like everything in this world?" Gilgamesh laughed. "And what is it that you want, Kirei?"

Another troublesome question. Isn't he participating in this War because the Grail may be able to give him an answer?

"I…"

"What an amusing face you've made just now!" Gilgamesh smiled and gave the priest a look of a lazy, wild cat. "You don't need to have a general answer. After all, people are capricious creatures, they chase one little desire after another. If it's so difficult for you, tell me what do you want right now, Kirei."

Right now? Is there really something he wants? He's been nervous recently, like if he's waiting for something, but… What was it?

And then he knew. He felt a sudden relief, realizing this simple truth. There must be a person just like him, who walked the same path and already knows the answer.

"I want to face Kiritsugu Emiya."

After a moment of silence, Gilgamesh laughed. It was a soft, pleasant sound, this time devoid of malice.

"So, we're going after the Einzbern team? Fine with me." He poured the wine into another glass and handed it to Kirei. "You will get your answers, I will get some fun. Let's make a toast to this promising cooperation."

They clinked their glasses. Kotomine stared at the drink, crimson and sweet like blood. He accepted it hesitantly and tried the wine. It tasted… different than before, like a promise of something extraordinary.

Kirei still did not know pleasure, but suspected, that this excitement is as close to it as it possible for him. He smiled.

"Ah, promising, indeed."

* * *

"Did you hear that, Rider?" Waver tensed, alarmed by strange screams.

They were riding through the canal to attack Caster in his hideout. The anemone-like creatures were dying under the wheels of Iskandar's chariot with annoying, squishing sounds. A small alchemic trick was enough to find this place, but it seemed that someone was already fighting here.

Rider did not answer, but ordered the bulls to speed up. Soon they entered a large grotto, probably an empty water tank. In the green glow of a flare, fired by one of the fighting magi, they saw tens of massacred corpses. Some children were crucified on the walls, their intestines were scattered around to imitate a grotesque painting of a mad abstractionist. Others were lying on the floor, gutted and chopped... It was definitely not a view, that can be easily forgotten.

Waver was trying hard to not vomit, but he failed eventually. Ashamed and still shaken, he tried to concentrate on the battle.

In the centre of this awful place, Berserker was fighting the summoned demons, using a long metal pipe. He was surprisingly calm, but too many tentacles blocked his movements, keeping him away from Caster.

This time Berserker's Master did not hide in the shadows. He was standing near the wall, commanding a swarm of strange insects. They were biting the enemy magus without mercy, literally eating him alive. Considering the circumstances, Waver could say that this psychopath deserved it.

Caster was not able to help his Master. His body was partially burnt and it seemed that the fiend was barely able to materialize. Actually it was a miracle, that he managed to survive the Rhongomyniad blast.

"So, boy… What should we do?"

It was not really a question, but another lesson. Waver should carefully chose his words, but had not enough time to do so.

"Actually, it would be better if we just let them be…" Rider raised his hand to punch Waver, so the boy finished in a great hurry: "But we can't just stand and watch, when the supervisor ordered everyone to defeat Caster, right? Right?"

Iskandar sighed. It was clearly what he wanted to hear, but the way Waver said it was disappointing.

"Boy, I think I can forgive you this time." Rider drew his sword and grabbed the reins. "Let's go then! Gordius Wheel! AAAALaLaLaLaLaie!"

Their charge literally wiped the monsters away, cleaning the path for Berserker. The Black Knight, now free from irritating tentacles, understood their intention and attacked Caster without a second thought. One powerful strike was enough to finish the fiend off, this time once and for all.

"Honestly… that was surprisingly quick." Rider stroke his beard, somehow disappointed. "Oh, it seems that our black friend has enough fighting for today."

Berserker dematerialized immediately to relieve his Master from pain, but Kariya collapsed anyway, totally exhausted. He fell on the ground next to the corpse of Ryuunosuke, almost completely eaten by the insects.

"S-sakura…" The Matou magus reached out his hand to Iskandar. "Please… help Sakura."

"What?" Rider got off his chariot and came closer, not really knowing, what's going on. "Who's Sakura?"

"In the Matou residence… Sakura."

Kariya could say nothing more and fainted. Even unconscious, he was bleeding from random places - it looked awful enough to make even Rider worried about his condition.

"Hey, boy, we must do something or he's going to die!"

"I know, but I can't help!" Waver's hands were shaking. "I can't use a healing magic!"

"I can!" A woman's voice came from behind. They turned around and saw two familiar figures, the blonde and the silver-haired one. "He still can be saved, I suppose."

"Lancer, huh?" Iskandar gave Arturia a suspicious gaze. "You're late. The battle is over."

Lancer ignored him completely. She had no intention to let Iri come any closer to the enemies.

"Irisviel, saving a few, or even a few dozen of people is not our goal. We're here to kill other Masters, not to help them."

That was something that Kiritsugu would say, no doubt. Why then it made Iri extremely sad? Of course they were both right in this matter, but deep in her heart, Irisviel could not accept it. Besides, she was sure, that there is at least one person, who would not hesitate to help this man.

"But…"

Suddenly, Rider decided to interfere. He slapped Waver in the back of his head to draw everybody's attention.

"You see, boy, the true conquest is not about attacking an enemy, when he's weak and not able to defend himself." He pretended to educate his Master, but his speech was clearly prepared for Lancer. "It's about facing an enemy when he's at his full power, so he would have no choice but to accept your superiority. To win, but not destroy. To conquer, but not humiliate!"

"I know it already, stop doing this!" Waver was desperately trying to free himself from Iskandar's hand.

Arturia stared at Rider coldly, ready to accept his challenge. She did not like to be instructed, especially when someone dared to question her morality.

"What's with that look, Lancer? The Master of Berserker collapsed because he had to finish your job. At least show some gratitude."

"Don't start the fight, you idiot!" Waver tried to jerk Rider's arm, but it was as effective as wrestling with a rock. "U-waaaah!" He hid behind his Servant's back, seeing enraged Arturia, who was ready to strike.

"Stop it, Lancer." Iri kneeled next to unconscious Kariya and prepared a healing spell. "We've come here to fight Caster, not to quarrel."

"Irisviel, Caster is defeated. We are enemies again."

Iri only shook her head; this time she was surprisingly stubborn.

"Not tonight, Lancer. Please, trust me."

"Well, it seems that it cuts off the discussion." Iskandar smiled widely, watching Irisviel and her healing magic in action. After a while, Kariya's shallow breathing became stable again. "So, where we should take him?"

"If he's really a member of Matou family…" Waver scratched his head, thinking. "Their residence is somewhere in Miyama district, more or less in the centre, if I remember correctly. Rider, you really want to take him there?"

"Of course. We decided to help, so we can't give up halfway, right?" Iskandar looked around. "We can't leave him in this tomb. This place must be destroyed."

They all agreed in this matter. It's sad, that the parents of Caster's victims will never know, what happened to their children, but destroying this creepy lair was the best thing Rider could do.

"It's over," Irisviel said, swallowing the tears. "No more deaths. No more suffering. Caster is finally defeated."

* * *

"Have you completed your task, Archer? That's why you returned?"

Kayneth was visibly irritated. He was sitting in his apartment, like a king on his throne, monitoring the situation outside through the eyes of his familiars.

"Yes, Saber was under the command of the Einzbern Master."

"Ha, ha, ha! Of course - Emiya Kiritsugu! He cheated somehow to have two Servants. Or rather killed Saber's original Master."

Lord El-Melloi stroked his chin, proud of his own deduction, and Robin had no intention of explaining his mistake. He was glad, that this little trick has worked. After all, he did not lie, it was Kayneth's fault to rush to conclusions.

"I knew that defeating this rat is the key to our victory. I will finish him off immediately, so he won't be able to cheat again."

Kayneth fell silent, with a strange smile dancing on his lips. Archer was almost sure that his Master was already imagining, how to humiliate his defeated enemy.

 _It would be nice to win first, don't you think, you dumb, arrogant aristocrat?_

"Why are you still here, Archer?" Kayneth rolled his eyes. "You really don't know what to do without my instructions? Find Caster and kill him. Go, bring me a new Command Spell, in replacement for the one wasted because of your insolence."

It was Kayneth's point of view, but arguing was pointless, as always. Robin only nodded and left the room with a painful sigh.

 _It seems that we will be the greatest losers in this Holy Grail War…_

"What's wrong?" Sola-Ui had a nasty habit of eavesdropping. "Your Master made a decision, why you can't just accept it?"

"Miss Sola, if Master goes after Kiritsugu Emiya unprepared, like the last time, he will die."

"Do you have a problem with that?"

Archer stared at his Master's fiancée, not sure, how he should react. What has just happened? It was provocation? A proposition? Or maybe a threat?

"Miss Sola, it's not funny."

"Do I look like I'm laughing, Archer?"

Robin helplessly shook his head. Sola-Ui was definitely not laughing, but she also did not show any kind of fear or worry. Actually, she probably won't care, if Kayneth dies.

"Let me give you some advice, Archer. When the time comes, remember who gives you stupid orders and who supplies you with energy to stay in this world." She smiled and it was not a smile of a young, beautiful woman, but the one of a twisted, manipulative witch. "Choose wisely."

She gave Robin the last meaningful glance and slowly walked to her room, leaving their Servant confused in the corridor.

* * *

Tokiomi had to reconsider his plans.

He was sitting in his magical atelier, visibly nervous. His _fingers were tapping_ out a strange _rhythm on the table_. It was totally not like Tokiomi, but he had a good reason to be worried.

Gilgamesh was not only ignoring his Master, but also openly opposed him. He couldn't be trusted. He was impossible to control. Tohsaka had no chance to win the War with such troublesome, useless Servant. It was more than a bad luck – like if the Grail itself was plotting against the fire magus…

"Ridiculous!"

The Grail shouldn't have its own will or plans, it was created as a simple but powerful magical system. So why did Tokiomi have a feeling, that everything what's happened till now, was a part of a bigger scheme? Why did the Grail allow this abnormal Servant to be summoned?

"I need to calm down. I'm starting to imagine things. But…"

He stared at the three Commands Spells on his hand and clenched his teeth. It was no more a matter of pride, or of being the head of Tohsaka family and protector of this land. It was about survival. He cannot get rid of these spells, because using them may be the only way to prevent a certain Heroic Spirit from killing his Master. Tokiomi suspected, that one spell won't stop Gilgamesh from doing as he pleases, probably he will be forced to use all of them at once.

It was a tempting idea - to order Gilgamesh to commit suicide right now and then try to make a contract with another Servant. It's a privilege of the three founding families, to be a Master even after losing all the Command Spells, so it would not be like admitting defeat, but…

But…

No, as a member of Tohsaka family, he must act calmly, according to plan. Elegance is always necessary, even at war. There's no need to haste, avoiding Gilgamesh and reconsidering the possibilities should be enough for now.

Their plans have already changed, to be honest. Unfortunately, Kirei's Assassin became their main force, so he must be spared and survive as long as possible. But combat abilities of this class are extremely low and there's no way to win depending only on them. Tokiomi Tohsaka desperately needed a powerful ally.

He sighed and settled himself comfortably in his usual chair.

According to Kirei's research, Rider is a top class Servant, but his Master is a third-rate magus from nowhere. The mysterious Matou Master is probably as mad as his Servant. Lord El-Melloi seems to be a honorable magus, but he picked a weak card in this game and was forced to hide in the shadows… Saber's Master is still unknown, so only one choice remained.

"The Einzberns, huh?"

Tokiomi sighed again. Their Master may be a hired freelancer, but there must be a reason for old Jubstacheit to trust him. What's more, this enigmatic man summoned a Lancer, probably the most loyal and honorable of all classes. It may be worth to give it a try.

"Let's meet and talk first, we will decide later."

* * *

"What's this?" Kiritsugu looked at the jade bird on Maiya's hand. "A spy?"

"A messenger."

Emiya raised his eyebrows after reading the letter delivered by the familiar.

"Oh? Tohsaka wants to meet with us on neutral ground? Interesting. Iri will go to the meeting."

"Should we call Madam immediately or wait for her return?"

"Hmmm." Kiritsugu was thinking for a while. Irisviel has changed recently, for the first time she decided to act on her own initiative. She visited Illya in her hideout, then joined the hunt for Caster. She became strangely rebellious… Emiya would like to know the reason for this sudden change of her behavior.

"Are you angry at Madam?" Maiya knew him just too well; she could easily guess, what he's thinking.

Surprisingly, Kiritsugu smiled.

"How could I? Making decisions and taking responsibility for them is the most important part of being human. I'm glad, that Iri can experience it at last." He looked away, embarrassed. He should be rather focused on the upcoming fights. "It's fine as long as Lancer assists her. Actually, it was a good choice. Now, when other Masters think, that we do exactly what the supervisor said, I can focus on the most important tasks."

Maiya nodded. She did not have to ask, who's their target.

They had a score to settle with Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald and were determined to finish this as soon as possible.

* * *

"Saber!" Illyasviel poked her Servant, demanding attention. "You'll be back in the morning?"

They were cleaning the table after dinner. Siegfried was totally helpless when it comes to preparing meals, so he took it upon himself to wash the dishes. No one liked to do it, so they accepted his self-sacrifice without a word.

"Of course. I won't let anyone separate us again. It was a stupid idea."

"Um, I'll be waiting for you. Uuummm? What's wrong, Sella?" Illya noticed a worried expression on her maid's face.

"Someone is trying to dispel the barrier around the resid…"

"Look out!"

A strange flash of light outside alarmed Saber. The girl and her maid fell on the floor, having no time to scream. Siegfried used his own body as a shield to protect them.

All windows exploded simultaneously, hit by the rain of various weapons, coming from all possible directions. The blades easily broke through the glass and even through the roof. A few seconds were enough for the enemy Servant to almost completely demolish this part of the residence.

As expected, it was not a true attack, but a show to disorientate the inhabitants. Most of the weapons did not manage to scratch Saber, but the barrier around the house has been destroyed and…

"Assassin? Again?" Siegfried sighed, helping Illya and Sella hide behind him in the corner of the room. It was not the best position for a defensive fight, they had to move from here as soon as possible.

Luckily, Leysritt was already near them, with her ridiculously big halberd in hands. She was surrounded, but did not let any of the enemies break through.

Saber wanted to avoid the fight inside the house. He needed a moment to prepare the evacuation route for Illya, so he took his Master and Sella to the next room and destroyed the wall with one powerful punch. With Leysritt, fighting on the other side of the collapsed wall and guarding the passage, they could proceed with their plan.

Siegfried had to admit, that Illyasviel was surprisingly brave and quiet. She must have realized, how dangerous the situation is, and was unusually obedient. Saber was really proud of her.

"We must hurry." He wrapped both Sella and Illya in his magical cloak, and activated the invisibility spell. "If you remain quiet and keep walking in the shadows, no one will be able to notice you. Go to the castle, we will join you there later."

"Let's go!" – it was Sella's voice. Saber could feel a little hand, touching his fingers in silence, before the two walked through the partially destroyed corridor to the back door. Good, no one should be able to target them in this chaos.

Well, almost. An Archer class Servant or any other with a high level of Clairvoyance would have no problems to see through this little trick. It's enough to deceive Assassin, but someone far more dangerous was waiting outside. In the harbor this abnormal Servant proved himself to be extremely perceptive. Illya still will be able to evacuate safely, but only if someone 'entertains' this golden bastard for a while.

"Leysritt…" Siegfried materialized near her and forced the nearest opponent to step back. He wanted to say, that she should be careful and only keep Assassin busy, but the warrior maid already knew, what to do.

"Yes. I will. You too. Don't die, Sa-ber. Ill-ya will be sad."

"I won't die." He smiled. "My orders are clear. So… be careful!"

He grasped Balmung's hilt and left the house to answer the challenge, ready to sacrifice everything to protect his dear Master.

* * *

Sorry for keep You waiting and thank You for reading! If You have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to contact me.


	9. 9: The Heroic Spirit of Assassinations

**9: The Heroic Spirit of Assassinations**

 _I guess I've exhausted the limits of my bad luck for the rest of the century._

* * *

"What do you plan to do, idiot?! Knock at their door and wait for an invitation? And maybe a tea party later?"

"Well, you're the one who told me to not destroy the buildings every time I want to enter them…"

"No! I mean: yes!" Waver was truly distraught, almost to the point of tearing his hair out. "Listen, we are in the enemy's territory, they should attack us right now! So, please, don't do anything… more stupid than usual."

"Boy, don't tell me that you want me to leave this guy at the door, like a sack of potatoes?" Iskandar raised an eyebrow, not convinced. "I'm trying to be polite, there's nothing stupid about it."

"I know, but this situation is just weird." Waver looked at the Matou residence and shivered. Except a typical magical barrier, there was a strange, cold aura around the house. The young magus could swear that he had just heard a sound of countless chitin legs, scratching the stones inside the building. "I have a feeling that something really scary lives here."

"I see." Rider gently put unconscious Kariya on the sidewalk near the door. "So invading this house is the only logical thing to do."

Waver blinked, not able to say a single word for a surprisingly long while.

"Wait! What kind of logic is that?!"

"Listen, boy, I've learnt logic from Aristotle himself!" Rider poked his Master in the chest, almost knocking him over. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Suddenly, another voice joined their conversation.

"Actually, I would listen to your young Master this time and leave the man here. It's not wise to go to the mansion without a wooden stake or a holy sword. It smells like a vampire inside."

Waver looked up and instinctively hid behind Rider's back. His Servant did not look distracted, sensing no danger from the sniper on the roof.

"Why do you think so, Archer?"

The green bowman abandoned his favorite vantage point and joined Rider on the ground.

"I've heard rumors. Birds, trees and wild beast know much more than you can imagine, King of Conquerors."

"Oh?" Rider seemed to be truly impressed and interested. "What else do they know?"

"That something sleeps deep beneath the mountain. Something dangerous." He sighed and look around, like if he's waiting for someone. "Anyway, something is wrong with this Holy Grail War."

"And that's why you sitting here, wasting time, like a stalker?" Waver crossed his arms, not convinced. He clearly did not intend to trust this strange Servant. "Maybe you're trying to scare us, so we'll abandon the war, huh?"

"Well, actually… I didn't expect to meet you here. I was waiting for Saber." Robin scratched his head, embarrassed. "Maybe you've seen him? I couldn't find the big guy in any of his usual spots."

Rider and Waver exchanged worried looks, then both shrugged.

"Too bad… I hope nothing unexpected happened."

"Huh? Don't tell me that he's been defeated!" Iskandar nervously stroke his beard. "He promised me a fair duel, it would be unfortunate."

"Very. We had some plans, too." Archer looked at the Matou residence with a strange, sad expression. "Sakura, right? Please wait a little longer."

Iskandar was thinking for a long while. The sole fact, that additional Servant has been summoned, classless and ridiculously powerful, was a proof, that this Holy Grail War is somehow special. Caster, a crazy, cruel degenerate, was another abomination – only shining and good-aligned heroic souls should be able to participate in this tournament, right?

Moreover, it seems that there has been already an unofficial alliance formed between the true heroes. Fighting is honorable, if the reason is morally right. Even death can't stop them from doing what they always do. It would be a shame to not join such Servants for a good cause. Selfish wishes can wait.

"Hmmm… If what you said is true, and something is really wrong… I think that we should discuss this matter first. Fighting can wait."

Robin stared at Iskandar with a strange expression.

"I'm not sure that the other Masters will be happy about it," he said hesitantly.

"That's why we should settle this matter between Servants." Rider completely ignored a silent protest of Waver and pacified the boy with his giant hand. "You need to tell us everything you know, Archer."

"It would be better to explain it to everyone at once. We should call a meeting or something."

"Great idea!" The King of Conquerors gave Robin a wide, honest smile. "We will organize a banquet of Heroes! Or rather a banquet of Kings! Judging from manners only, we are all kings in this war, right?"

Archer laughed at loud, not able to resist anymore.

"If the title of May King counts…"

"Agreed then!" Rider clapped his hands, utterly pleased. "Watch carefully, boy, because a very important event will take place tomorrow night! This is how history is made, ha, ha, ha!"

Waver only helplessly shook his head, sure that he will be ignored, whatever he tries to say or do.

* * *

 _It's been about four hours or more, even walking with half of her usual speed, Illya should at least reach the forest._

Gilgamesh was standing on a fence, with his hands in his pockets and with a wide smile on his face. He kept firing various missiles at Saber, observing his every movement, visibly amused.

"You have some talent, although you weren't born with an instinct of a warrior. You've got those abilities through training, so it makes you simply a butcher." The golden-haired Servant laughed. "But it's still impressive, Dragon Slayer. You're good at defensive fighting."

Saber had no time or way to answer, totally focused on blocking the weapons. Maneuvering with his giant sword was not easy, but only a few red scratches were visible on his skin so far. He knew he can't fight like this forever, having no skills like Protection from Arrows he will exhaust himself and make a fatal mistake, sooner or later. He has already seen countless possibilities to withdraw and was experienced enough to do so... No, it was something more: he was sure, that he must abandon this unfavorable battle. The most frustrating was the fact, that Siegfried got stuck in a defensive position, not able to reduce the distance and engage his opponent in melee combat. Or maybe…

 _It's like he's able to predict my next moves. He's always a step ahead, I can't outmaneuver him like this. However, he's not wearing an armor, so there's still a chance if I…_

Saber focused. All-or-nothing attacks were not his specialty, so he had to convince himself first, that this is really a good idea. Then he needed to wait for a perfect moment to set things into motion.

 _Here it comes!_ Another portion of deadly blades was near, but this time Siegfried did not randomly block the weapons - he deflected them and sent them back to Gilgamesh. Then he followed the missiles, as fast as he could, to attack his enemy head on. Even knowing, what's coming at him, the King of Heroes could do nothing but physically avoid it. _If it's fast enough, it may work._

* * *

Leysritt had no idea, what's going on.

Assassins were toying with her, their battle was more like a dance than a real fight. To kidnap Illyasviel, the enemy should rather split up and try to deal with the resistance as soon as possible, not waste time for such meaningless exchange of blows. The warrior-maid was strong, but the fact, that literally not even one serious counterattack came after her strikes, was still strange.

It's just for show? Who else is watching this fight? The Master of Assassin? Probably. Then why his own Servant tries to deceive him? Or maybe Leysritt is the one to be deceived in some twisted way?

The battle, or whatever it truly was, has ended sooner than expected. This part of the house was completely destroyed, but looked like after an earthquake, with no blood or weapons around. Assassin came and gone like a ghost, less than a shadow of Heroic Spirit, leaving no traces of his existence behind.

Leysritt turned around, tightly grasping her halberd, not yet sure, what to do. She could hear a terrible noise outside, like if Saber is facing an entire army, not a single Servant. The feeling of danger, crawling beneath her skin, was… disturbing.

No, she shouldn't interfere, during a battle between Servants she would be totally useless. Illya said, that Saber is strong, and her bodyguard-maid believed it. Such famous hero summoned in the most powerful class is nearly invincible, right?

So why Leysritt was so worried about him?

Sighing heavily, she followed Illya to the Einzbern castle.

* * *

Siegfried was sure, that he at least scratched his opponent. But he was too slow.

A few millimeters too slow.

With a single, blinding blast of mana the golden armor appeared instead of Gilgamesh's modern clothes. He blocked next Balmung's strikes with a simple longsword, while stepping back, but it was a short exchange of blows. King of Heroes was strong and skilled, but not insane; he was a king and a hero, not a trained swordsman, to stand against a Saber class Servant in a long melee combat.

"I supposed that you would rather use your Noble Phantasm, but you chose to depend only on your skills." Siegfried found the wide smile of his adversary extremely frustrating. "Why is that? You're just playing with me, aren't you?"

Saber used this moment of rest to check the surroundings. It was disturbingly silent within the house, so the fight must have reached a conclusion already. Leystritt probably has won and joined Illya. There's nothing to worry about with such a good warrior escorting his little Master, now he should retreat. Siegfried seemed a little more relaxed after this discovery.

It was his biggest mistake.

"What an annoying skills you posses." Gilgamesh frowned. "I see, your Master is already safe and you're just buying time?" His eyes narrowed dangerously. "You must be punished for wasting my time."

The entire area started to glow with a golden light from the open portals. It was impossible to avoid all the weapons, so Saber considered a possibility to just depend on his dragon skin...

Not that he really had a choice. Or time to react, to be honest.

"Why are you smiling, fool?"

"Ha, ha, it's been a long time since something pierced through!" Saber coughed up blood, but did not stop smiling. "It's a nice feeling, to be alive and mortal again."

"I see. You're more interesting than I suspected." Gilgamesh's expression changed from anger, through amusement, to an understanding. "Another broken hero, huh? How could I take something away from a mongrel, who has nothing?" Surprisingly, he laughed. "Remember this feeling, enjoy it while you can. Let it become precious, so I will have real fun taking it from you later."

"I doubt t…"

"I don't remember giving you permission to speak."

His next attack was more serious. Gilgamesh had no intention to kill his opponent, though – none of the blades hit Saber's core or weak point. But being pierced in random places, like a pincushion, and nailed to the ground, is still not funny. It was hard to withstand. Siegfried winced, forced to fall to his knees.

"The Middle Ages were sad and dark mostly because of the fact, that people had lost their imagination. As Sigurd you would probably free yourself with runic magic now." Gilgamesh walked up to Saber and touched his cheek with a tip of a fine, golden sword, teasing him. A single drop of blood ran down Siegfried's face. "I bet you recognize this blade."

"Of course." It was Gram, the prototype of his favorite Balmung, and probably one of the weapons able to kill Siegfried with just one strike.

Saber did not intent to wait and let the King of Heroes check this theory. Embracing the horrible pain, he tried to stand up again. He may be defeated, or rather overpowered, but he won't stay on his knees before this abnormal Servant.

"Oh? You still have strength to oppose me? You seemed to be an obedient one, easy to handle even for an immature meat doll as a Master, so what's with this rebellious attitude?" Just one glance at Gilgamesh was enough to tell, that he actually admires Siegfried's stubbornness. To hide it, the golden Servant focused mostly on the sword in his hand. "It's fascinating, how wielder affects a weapon. This sword can be a holy one, like Excalibur, but with different user it can become a demonic sword, a deadly, cursed blade. So, when will you show me your Noble Phantasm, and the true color of your soul?"

"Why should I do that? Granting wishes of an opponent sounds like a bad idea for me."

"Aren't you a hero?" Gilgamesh's smile was really annoying. "And I'm the King of Heroes, your king, so you should just shut up and obey."

"You're rather a killer of heroes."

"If you put it this way… so be it. Besides, I really don't like the way you look at me."

Siegfried was aware of the upcoming strike and even raised Balmung to block it, but a spear from one of the portals nailed his arm to the ground. He had no way to defend himself against a quick, horizontal slash, that damaged both his eyes at once.

 _Shit, that hurt! I still can fight, but…_

"You've been punished." Gilgamesh's voice was coming from the distance now. "Next time I want to see you shining on the battlefield. I won't show mercy on you or your Master anymore."

As a parting gift, Gilgamesh dispelled all his weapons at the same moment, making Siegfried's wounds literally burst out with blood. Leaning on his sword and bleeding like a grotesque fountain, Saber inhaled slowly. He should change into spirit form immediately, but it seemed to be an extremely exhausting task right now. Just one more breath, one more second of rest…

He regretted his decision immediately, hearing a light footsteps on the gravel. He sighed heavily, recognizing the aura of the one particular Servant he would rather not fight in his current condition.

* * *

Kiritsugu watched the turmoil in Illya's hideout through the cameras and decided to change his plans. He sent Maiya to assist Sella, just in case, and bring his daughter safely to the castle. Everything was under control, but caution is still indicated.

He did not care for Saber, although his clash with Gilgamesh seemed to be helpful for the Einzbern team. If Illya's Servant dies in this duel, the girl will be free from her duty as a Master. If he somehow manages to survive, he will give Lancer priceless details about the enemy. If he wins – they will get rid of a serious problem.

Now Kiritsugu had much more important task – to prepare the ground for the meeting with Tokiomi Tohsaka. Irisviel and Lancer were already on their way to the chosen place and Emiya waited nearby, lying on the nearest roof, ready to take the red magus down if negotiations would fail.

The location was perfect and soon Kiritsugu noticed Tokiomi Tohsaka in the centre of the abandoned building. He contacted Irisviel through the communicator hidden in her watch, just to check if everything works correctly. He still preferred to avoid speaking right through Arturia's mind, at least until Kayneth is defeated.

"Iri, can you hear me?"

"Yes, loud and clear."

"Good."

"He's alone?"

"Yes, as he promised."

Both women entered the building and Tohsaka bowed slightly to welcome them.

"First, allow me to thank you for coming at my behest. This is how the Holy Grail War should look like, at least between the greatest and most respectable families of magi. If there is any…"

Irisviel, worried about Illya, was not in the mood for long conversations.

"Forgive me my rudeness, but there's one thing you need to explain to us first." There was a barely noticeable anger in her voice. "You came here to speak such nonsense about honor and duty, but your Servant has just joined forces with Assassin to invade our territory. They're in the middle of the fight right now. Tell me then, how could we trust you?"

Although Tokiomi was trying hard to hide his confusion, he failed completely and showed his true emotions. It was obvious, that he didn't know about the alliance of Gilgamesh and Kirei. How could it be possible? Maybe Risei betrayed him as well? It was truly the last possible moment for Tohsaka to wake up and realize his mistakes.

"I see, you didn't know." Irisviel stared at the red magus accusingly, without a single blink. "So you actually have nothing to offer and you came here to seek shelter? This is not how cooperation should look like."

Tokiomi grasped the jewel attached to his staff, rather angry than frustrated. He found himself in a very unfavorable situation, but he should keep cool, for the sake of his family honor.

"You have a grudge against Lord El-Melloi Archibald, the Master of Archer, am I correct?" He glanced at Irisviel and she nodded hesitantly, not knowing what he's up to. "I will challenge him to a duel. Even without a Servant, no Tohsaka magus will abandon the fight. I will defeat him to prove my good will."

"Oh?" From his position on one of the roofs, Kiritsugu whistled with admiration. It's not that he trusts Tokiomi, but this proposition opened up new possibilities. Kayneth will most likely answer the challenge and leave his hideout. What will happen to the red magus after the fight can be decided later. It's always better to have a protector of the local ley lines on their side, not to mention that Tohsaka possesses the Command Seals to kill Gilgamesh.

Whatever happens, the Einzbern team won't lose anything.

"We can accept it," Iri said after receiving a confirmation from Kiritsugu. "Just one more question, if you don't mind… Why you decided to join us?"

Tokiomi sighed, but he answered simply and honestly.

"My duty is to make sure that the Grail will not fall into the wrong hands. The Einzberns once shared the same dream - to reach the Root - with Makiris and Tohsakas. Your victory is still better than giving the Grail to a complete stranger. May I ask, just to be sure, what the Einzberns want from the Grail?"

"To complete the third true magic, Heaven's Feel." It was truth, Jubastacheit did not know what Kiritsugu plans to do after his possible victory.

This answer visibly pleased Tokiomi.

"So the most important wish of a true family of magi has not been abandoned. I'm fine with that. You have my help."

He bowed slightly and Irisviel responded with a curtsy, confirming their alliance.

* * *

 _So, I'm blinded, surrounded and can't even move… Great, just great._

Siegfried could feel the presence of at least three Assassins nearby. Surprisingly, they did not attack and even made some noise while approaching Saber, probably to gain his trust. Some of them decided to show themselves, but who knows how many were observing the scene from the shadows?

"We didn't come to fight you, Dragon Slayer." A woman said it? She was standing no further than two steps from Siegfried. He tried to point Balmung at her, but failed eventually. For the first time his hand was shaking under the weight of the sword. "Your Master and her maids are safe in the forest near the castle. One of us keeps guarding them, don't worry."

"How nice of you… What do you want from me?" He chuckled, realizing something. "It seems that my identity is not a secret to you... Would you mind introducing yourself?"

"You can call me Asako," the woman said.

"I'm Makuru the Quick" – came from the man on the right.

"We want to survive," the child behind him explained.

"To reach the end of this war."

"To fight for our wish, not be just a disposable tool."

"Please, help us."

Siegfried could only helplessly shake his head, feeling the power of the curse flowing through his body. He shivered, trying to fight it. It was pointless.

 _I guess I've exhausted the limits of my bad luck for the rest of the century._

"Fine. As long as it won't collide with the plans of my Master, I can be your ally. But I won't support any evil deeds or dishonorable acts."

He sounded categorically enough to make Assassins fall silent for a while. The gravel creaked under somebody's feet, when they gathered to exchange opinions.

"We can accept that," Asako said and Saber could feel three pairs of hands, helping him to stand up. "You should go back to the castle now. We will watch your back."

Siegfried smiled and nodded. He would never expect to have an Assassin class Servant on his side, saying something so unbelievable. It was really strange, but complaining was not in his nature.

After all, he survived the night. What does not kill you, makes you stronger, right?

He really wanted to believe it, but tonight it was harder than ever.

* * *

Thank You for reading! I'm so happy that so many people read this story, but also a little confused to have so few reviews… Well, just like Saber, I won't complain. ;)

A little foreshadowing happened in this chapter (thank you, Gilgamesh!). I can say that a completely new character will join one of the teams soon. Arturia will get a chance to shine, too, so please be patient.

INFO: The story will continue to the next Holy Grail War. There's a poll on my profile – You can vote for new Servants to appear in sequel. I'm still open to suggestions.

Thank You again and see You next time, I hope!


	10. 10: Defeat Is Not An Option

**10: Defeat Is Not An Option**

 _"_ _I should be the one to apologize to you, Saber, for what I'm going to do to you right now. I guess you'll never forgive me."_

* * *

Irisviel shivered, feeling an electric-like impulse coming from the barrier around the castle.

"Saber is back!" Illya shouted with excitement. They were sitting together on her bed in a newly prepared room, resting after a hard night. The girl was truly happy, but a wide smile vanished from her face after a long while of waiting. "Why didn't he come to see me? Is he angry because I caused so much troubles?"

Iri gently caressed her daughter's hair, thinking. It was really unusual for Siegfried to avoid them like this, there must be a serious reason.

"Illya, I can't even imagine Saber being angry at you. It's just not possible."

"Then why?"

"Because you need rest, Sweetie. You'll see him when you wake up."

"But…"

"No, Illya. Later." Irisviel smiled, kissed the girl goodnight and left the room to investigate the situation.

There was something disturbing on the corridor - a barely noticeable smell of blood. Iri knew what it means, but still wondered how it's even possible for a ghost to smell like that.

"Saber?" It was not really a question, to be honest. "Are you ok? Why are you hiding? Your Master is waiting for you, you should go and see her now."

"I'm sorry, but I must refuse" – a short answer came from behind her back. Irisviel blinked. That was something new, Siegfried would never ignore her request like that with no serious reason! "I'm afraid I will scare Master if I materialize in my current condition in her presence."

"You've been badly wounded?"

"It's not fatal, I won't have any problems with recovery."

She wasn't so sure about it.

"Would you wait for me? I must go to an important meeting first."

"Of course, please don't mind me." Irisviel saddened, she could clearly feel a pain in Saber's voice. "I would gladly assist you, but I'm actually useless now."

Iri sighed, sure that the problem is more serious than it seems.

"Don't say stupid things, Siegfried. Come to my room. Now. The meeting can wait."

"But…" He sighed mentally, feeling a sudden tension in the air and expecting a serious protest. "As you wish, Lady Irisviel."

Iri couldn't hold back her smile, realizing how similar these two are. Illya protested with the same kind of 'But…'.

 _Honestly, it's like having two children_ _sometimes_. Irisviel smiled at the thought, but when Saber finally materialized, she swallowed and held her breath, not longer in a mood to laugh. His wounds really seemed shallow enough, but they were everywhere and looked awful. Especially his eyes.

"I'm sorry that I scared you, Lady Irisviel."

"It's not… Well, it is, but I think that Illya should be the one to help you. She's strong, she can heal you immediately."

"I know, Master is a very strong magus, but taking too much energy at once may cause a shock to her circuits. I'll take more if necessary, but for now it's perfectly fine to recover naturally, without haste."

Irisviel shook her head. She should already get used to Siegfried's way of thinking, but he still managed to surprise her. For someone with Illya's potential, healing a Servant completely shouldn't cause more troubles than a little headache, but… A little headache was still too much in her Servant's opinion.

It was the reason why she trusted this swordsman so much. She was glad to have someone like him around when the end is near. She had to believe in Kiritsugu's victory, but still…

She shouldn't have any doubts, right? Yet, as a mother, she could feel more, see more. There's a slice chance that they'll both die and then Illya…

"Something troubles you, Lady Irisviel?"

"Actually… yes. But first I need to fix you a little. I'm sorry, it will hurt." She focused on recovering Saber's eyes first, then made him look at least a little bit less scary. She had something very important to say and she wanted to do it in a proper, honest way. "Done, now please try to look at me."

He blinked several times, then nodded, confirming, that everything's all right.

"Thank you, Lady Irisviel. It's more than enough. I'm sorry for causing you so much troubles."

Surprisingly, Irisviel saddened in an instant. Her hands were shaking, like she was trying to make a very important decision. It was painful to even look at her in this state.

"I should be the one to apologize to you, Saber, for what I'm going to do to you right now. I guess you'll never forgive me."

"Lady Irisviel?"

She took a deep breath and suddenly changed into a completely different person: brave, determined and ready to fight.

"Saber, I... I'm the Grail's vessel, there's no way for me to survive this War. That's why I need you to abandon the fight and protect Illya at all costs, even when I'm gone. Please help me and keep her away from this conflict."

* * *

Kariya woke up in chains, not really knowing, which part of his body hurts the most. It wasn't really important. He and Berserker were still a part of this insane race for the Grail and it was more than enough for now.

He quickly recognized this room, the creepy basement of the Matou house, and shivered, trying to remember, how he had managed to return from the fight with Caster. The truth was that he had no idea how it happened.

"I must admit, that you did well, Kariya" – the voice came from the shadows in the corner of the room. Zouken smiled and it was enough for his 'prisoner' to feel the need to vomit. "You even managed to get a Command Spell for me."

The old vampire showed a single sigil on his hand; the red sign was gleaming in the dark. Kariya tried to say something, but a very unpleasant surprise waited for him when he opened his mouth.

"That's why I decided to keep you alive a little longer," Zouken continued after forcing the chained magus to swallow a big, fat worm. "I even prepared a special gift for you. Don't be so surprised, just taste it and enjoy it to the fullest."

A sudden shock came through Kariya's shattered circuits. His veins were about to explode, when a huge portion of magical energy started to fill every cell of his weak, dying body.

The pain was not the worst part of this process. For a Master of Berserker nothing could be more painful than the sound of Zouken's loud laugh.

At least until the old vampire spoke again:

"I works quickly, doesn't it? The worm I just gave you was the first to feed on Sakura's purity. How does it feel, Kariya? Go now and fight, win the Grail as you promised. Make a good use of the life you've stolen from this girl."

And he walked away, leaving the whining magus alone with his madness and despair.

* * *

Tokiomi Tohsaka was standing proudly in the centre of the parking near the Lord El-Melloi's apartment. The sole fact that he dared to enter Kayneth's territory and raise a magical barrier there should be enough to take it for a challenge, but he decided to provoke his opponent even more openly.

"I know you can hear me, Master of Archer." His voice echoed magically to reach his rival even through the barrier. "I have come here without my Servant, to use magic against magic. Let us duel for the Grail with our lives and our honor!"

Tohsaka could feel the presence of his 'escort' – his so-called allies were observing this improvised battlefield from the shadows. Kiritsugu Emiya was somewhere around with his modern and deadly toys. Lancer was waiting in hiding as well, ready to face any Servant who tries to interfere with the plan. They called it "a support" but Tokiomi was not so sure about their true intentions. Of course, it was good to had a sniper nearby, guarding his back if Kayneth tries to use some dirty tricks, and a Servant ready to repel Archer's or Assassin's sudden assault. It was good, as long as Emiya keeps his promise to act as a team.

The red magus did not show hesitation or weakness, it was not a good time for it. He was the one who came out with this crazy proposal, so he had no right to complain. And, to be honest, he regretted nothing.

It was a fragile alliance and Tokiomi was the one who may lose everything, at least in theory. The truth was that he came here well prepared. Whoever dares to challenge Tohsaka on the land he swore to protect, will pay dearly for this mistake.

"Defeat is not an option," Tokiomi whispered and let himself welcome his opponent with a thin smile.

As expected, Kayneth couldn't ignore an opportunity to have a traditional magical duel, and left his safe hideout. Luring him out was just too easy.

"I, the ninth head of the Archibald family, Kayneth El-Melloi, accept your challenge." The European magus prepared his Volumen Hydrargyrum and smiled like a child who has just received a new toy. "Shall we?"

The red magus only nodded; it was clear that their little chat has just ended. They both let the spells speak and a red flame clashed with a liquid silver.

* * *

"I know it was a dirty move to use your curse against you," Irisviel said after a long moment of silence. She was determined to achieve her goal, but also looked disappointed by Saber's reaction. "I know I did something unforgivable - I asked a Heroic Spirit summoned to War to abandon the fight. No apology will be enough."

Actually Siegfried was not angry at all; he remained silent only because he needed time to process all the unexpected information. He was already tangled in the web of wishes, curses and machinations, but this single request changed everything. Finally he could act freely and focus on the most important things, but…

Being under the power of the curse or not, he felt like a traitor. Because of Iri's intrigue Illya's wish will never come true, right? No, it was hopeless from the very beginning.

Maybe a promised miracle they're fighting for can solve this problem? Is the Grail really so powerful to bring back Irisviel even if her death is needed to activate it?

Siegfried was not so sure about it. What a cursed, black magic demands such awful sacrifices? Crushing dreams of long dead heroes is cruel enough, but this was just unbelievable…

If he keeps fighting, he will actively take part in killing Iri. If he abandons the War, his little Master will probably never forgive him. Is he really not able to make things work, no matter what he'll do?

"Lady Irisviel." Siegfried sighed, still not sure what he should do, and gently grabbed Iri's hand, in a knightly manner. His voice was even warmer than before. "You did nothing wrong. It's me, I failed as a Servant. Anyway, thank you for trusting me enough to share this important secret."

"It's not…" She exhaled slowly, again amazed by Saber's ability to blame himself for every single problem they face. "I will talk with Illya, I'm sure she'll understand and agree with me. No one is to blame here, we are facing the hopeless situation together. This plan is the best I could come up with. Saving everyone is impossible, you know that."

"It's not an excuse for a legendary being. Impossible or not, we can't stop fighting for our ideals."

"That's why I had chosen you for this task." Her beautiful smile calmed Saber down a little. "I know you'll keep your promise, no matter what. I can't ask Kiritsugu to abandon his dream and there's no one else I can trust, so… Take a good care of my little girl, Saber."

It was probably the most desperate and difficult task ever placed upon him.

"I will."

"So everything is ok now?" – a silent question came from the corridor.

They did not expect Illya to show up so suddenly. The girl was yawning and looked so innocent in her pink pajamas, that they were not able to scold her for eavesdropping.

"Master, what are you doing here?"

"I told you to call me Illya! I could not sleep," she explained simply and entered the room. "I was so worried… But it's ok now?"

"Yes." Irisviel gently caressed Illya's hair. You should be sleeping now, as you promised, not walking around the castle like that, Sweetie."

"Gooood." Illya yawned again and sat between them, visibly happy. She ignored the last reprimand like a true princess. "Worrying is not my favorite thing. I'm glad it's over. But there's something more… Saber!" She poked his arm accusingly. "Why are you hiding your most powerful Noble Phantasm from me?"

Iri blinked, totally surprised, but Siegfried only sighed, admitting defeat.

"It seems that Miss Sella is an awesome teacher. You've improved greatly, Master, to see through my little tricks." It was not clear if Saber is really proud of Illya or he's just trying to avoid the topic.

"Flattery won't save you this time!" The girl tried to act like an adult, but a cute blush totally ruined the effect of her desperate efforts. "Explain yourself!"

"It's far too dangerous and I think…"

"No excuses." A tiny finger landed on Saber's nose. "Speak. It's an order."

Facing the curious gazes of both women, Siegfried had no choice but to obey.

* * *

So, I'm finally back. Sorry for keep You waiting for so long. Your constant support helped me a lot, as well as the fact that You're still here with me, knowing that I always end my stories.

Next chapters will come soon, I promise to publish them more often, as before.

Aaaand… thanks for help with choosing Servants to participate in the next War! I'm still hesitant about Caster and Assassin, so the poll is still open for these two classes.

Thank You again and see You next time!


	11. 11: The Heroic Spirit of Vengeance

**11: The Heroic Spirit of Vengeance**

 _"_ _Too bad I can't… have… my revenge."_

* * *

"This is really interesting." Arturia seemed captivated by the fight of two powerful magi. They stood still, only flames and liquid silver were moving around them, clashing fiercely, trying to break through and smash the opponent's magical shield. "It's a battle of will. They do not look like warriors, but I can feel the proper air around them."

"Indeed," Kiritsugu replied mechanically. The duel was interesting, but too long in his opinion. He kept nervously peeking at his watch, waiting for something important to happen.

Another five minutes passed. Lord El-Melloi clenched his teeth in silent anger, too focused to say anything. Tohsaka on the other hand looked disturbingly elegant, despite an obvious exertion.

"Master, we have company," Lancer summoned Llamrei to her side. The mare was almost completely healed and more than ready to take her beloved rider to battle.

"Who?"

"Tokiomi's Servant has come. He seems to only observe the fight. I'll keep an eye on him, Master."

"Good." Well, actually it was the worst possible scenario. They must end the show quickly. Emiya again looked at the watch and breathed out a sigh of relief, when Maiya finally contacted him through the phone. "All is set, Maiya?"

"Yes. We have one minute," the woman replied calmly, although she was clearly in a hurry. "Evacuation has already ended, Archer is nowhere to be seen. It's your turn now."

"Understood." Kiritsugu disconnected and looked at the battlefield through the viewfinder of his weapon. "Lancer, I have a task for you."

Arturia listened to his instruction; she was visibly surprised but accepted the order without a word. Emiya took a deep breath and concentrated, waiting for a perfect moment to act.

 _"_ _So… Here it goes!"_

* * *

"He's not bad," Kotomine Kirei noticed, watching the magic duel from one of the roofs.

"Oh? It's all you can say about your teacher, Kirei? But yes, Tokiomi is giving me more than enough energy, I must say." Gilgamesh looked less interested, maybe even irritated. "Not that I really need it..." After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly added: "It would be the best for him to die here."

"That was unexpected." The false priest could not hold a smile. "You're so dissatisfied with your Master?"

"He's just boring, that's all. And how about you? You know that your own petty Servant is plotting against you but you let him do as he pleases. Why is that?"

"I'm just curious what Assassin is trying to achieve, nothing more." Kotomine winced, when Kayneth suddenly fell on his knees, overwhelmed by the power of Tohsaka's magical strike. "It's a kind of entertainment you were talking about, I guess. A surprisingly satisfying kind of entertainment."

"I see. A little warm-up before the main event."

"Yes. I suppose that stopping Assassin when he almost reaches his goal will be an interesting experience. That's exactly the same strategy you want to use against Lancer, am I right?"

"Ah, yes, but I have a far more complicated reason to do so."

"Is it the same reason why you keep teasing Saber?" Kirei smiled, realizing something. "So humanity really fascinates you..."

Gilgamesh chuckled, amazed by this last remark, but did not deny it.

"Your mind is sharp, Kirei. You are a very interesting man." The golden Servant made a short but significance pause. "Indeed, there is something that particularly interests me in such entities. When a human desires something so desperately, that he decides to fight or die for it, he can give up everything to make it happen. He may become a monster, a beast or a saint. It's a long way to go for a simply mongrel, don't you think? All I want to check is how far these famous heroes could go, to see how powerful they became through their sacrifices." He stopped talking, when the nearest building suddenly disappeared in a huge explosion. "Oh, that was a fitting end of the spectacle. I wonder who did this."

Kotomine was visibly fascinated, maybe even delighted by this unexpected turn of events. The flames were dancing in his wide open eyes, when he answered Gilgamesh's question:

"It's Emiya's Kiritsugu doing. I'm sure of it."

* * *

Tokiomi won.

The duel was fierce and exhausting, but now the red magus was preparing his final attack. Kayneth was already on his knees, breathing heavily, and desperately trying to save himself. Finally he decided to summon Archer for help.

"I see. You refuse to accept your defeat." For Tohsaka such behavior was extremely disgusting and shameful. "So you have no honor of a true magus. What a shame."

He was ready to stop Lord El-Melloi from summoning his Servant, but someone was faster. A bullet pierced through Kayneth's hand - it hit the freshly activated Command Spell and… made it vanish.

The European mage started to scream hysterically, facing a horrible pain of his circuits being devoured by the power of the bullet. At the same moment the nearest building exploded, but Tokiomi was caught by a black hurricane and transported to a safe place.

 _"_ _Lancer? I see, so Emiya did not betray me… yet. He shouldn't have interfere, though..."_

Maybe it was not fair to snipe Kayneth from shadows, but Lord El-Melloi was first to break the rules of their duel. It was a fitting end for someone, who betrayed the way of magi, so Tokiomi Tohsaka had no compassion for his fallen enemy.

His plan was a success and the red magus found himself one step closer to the Grail.

* * *

She was dying alone under a mountain of rubble. Every single magical barrier, which Kayneth raised to protect their hideout, failed. Because of his spells she was still alive, but now it meant only that she had to suffer longer, and experience the agony to the fullest.

"How… stupid of you, Kayneth."

All she could feel in her last moments, except a horrible pain, was anger.

No, it was something more. A pure, honest hatred.

Someone was talking to her, the man in green. She needed a moment to understand his words.

"…I'm not a warrior type or a very strong guy, you know? I had no chance to save you anyway, Miss Sola-Ui."

She did not understand why Archer feels the need to explain himself. He's just stupid? Sentimental? Who cares anyway?

Not that it mattered. He left soon, realizing that it's too late. She was dying in the pool of her own blood. What a pathetic end for someone with her potential, with her hunger for life!

"Curse you, curse you all!"

She thought about all the people who dared to decide, how her life should look like. They never asked permission to do so, her opinion did not matter even once. She cursed her family, who preferred to give the crest to her brother. She could easily win this war by herself! She could have summoned a better Servant than this weak, unfaithful Archer!

"Too bad I can't… have… my revenge."

"You may have it!" Something materialized nearby. Sola-Ui could feel an aura of a Servant, but… It was much darker, much scarier than any Servant she has ever met. "Don't worry, I'll save you, Master."

"Who… are you?"

"Your Servant, of course." The woman in a strange black dress kneeled near the dying magus and grasped her hand. Indeed, the three Command Seals appeared on it, and they were burning like fire. "I know how it feels to be used by your own family for political matters and then betrayed. I was robbed from everything… my husband, my status, my gold, home and future. They were so afraid of me and my vengeance, you know? But I found a way. I killed them all and took back what was rightfully mine." Saying this, she gently caressed the hilt of a ridiculously big two-handed sword. "I avenged my beloved one, but it's still not enough. It will never be enough." She smiled and this faint expression looked particularly scary on her pale face, contrasting with a dangerous light in her red eyes. "And then you called me, your desire is so pure that I could not ignore it. Could I, Master?"

Sola-Ui blinked, trying to understand what's happening. This giant sword looked somehow familiar, but it was hard to guess its origin because of the thin layer of dark energy covering the blade. Yet she was strangely sure, that she had seen this weapon before.

"I see. Avenger, huh?"

The woman nodded with enthusiasm.

"So… Are you brave and determined enough to become my Master?"

The wounded woman confirmed with a weak nod. After that she could feel a fresh energy coming through her magic circuits, healing her almost completely destroyed body. She tensed, trying to understand what's going on. It seems that her new Avenger class Servant was healing her, using energy sucked from the surroundings. This scary black widow was like a parasite, probably self-sufficient, at least to some extent.

What's even more important, she was powerful. A very reliable ally, no doubt.

Sola-Ui smiled widely, knowing that for her the game has just begun.

* * *

 _"_ _If only Kiritsugu knew this sooner…"_

Irisviel was not sure what to do with her new knowledge about Saber and his hidden Noble Phantasm. It was indeed a powerful weapon. Not as scary as Lancer's ultimate attack, and probably not able to destroy worlds, but still too dangerous to be recklessly summoned.

Should she share this secret with Kiritsugu? What if he decides to unleash this power? And what if Saber loses control over his own weapon? What could possibly happen and how much energy would it consume?

Iri shivered at the thought. With so many Heroic Spirits around it would not be such a huge problem, but later, near the end of the War… Who knows?

"What's wrong, Mommy?" Illya grasped Irisviel's hand with all her might, visibly nervous. "Don't worry, I'll do as you told me. It will be fine."

"Yes. It will be fine. You're my wise and strong girl, after all."

"Umm! And my Saber is the strongest!"

Irisviel smiled, not able to share her doubts with Illya. She thought that Saber's Noble Phantasms are more problematic than they seem to be. That must have been a reason why he decided to rely in battle mostly on his skills.

 _"_ _No, I should not tell anyone about this weapon, even Kiritsugu,"_ she decided at last. _"It should remain hidden as long as possible."_

* * *

Three strange figures were sitting on the rooftop of the Einzbern Castle in Fuyuki – a warrior, a masked woman and a child.

The warrior was actually lying there comfortably, watching the sky, which was slowly changing its color from blue to red. The child looked equally relaxed, enjoying her meal – a sweet dango she has never tasted before. Only the woman seemed tensed and focused on guarding the place.

"He's come," she said suddenly and Saber nodded, welcoming their guest.

"So you're still alive?" – he said to a man hidden almost completely under the green cloak.

"Yup. Unlike other Servants, we Archers don't need our Masters to babysit us." Robin sat down next to Saber and sighed heavily. "But my remaining time here is limited. 'Operation Sakura' can't wait any longer."

"I agree. And it's seems that you have a plan?"

"Kind of. But first we muss discuss something important with other Servants. I guess that they will come tonight, even that golden weirdo."

Both Robin and Asako stared at Siegfried, probably expecting some kind of emotional reaction after his last fight with the mysterious Servant. Unfortunately, they were left disappointed.

"What? I don't care about the guy as long as he stays away from my Master." Siegfried shrugged, but it was only partially true. Something was bothering him, but he did not intent to share his thoughts with anyone. "By the way," he started, mostly to change the topic. "May I know what's your wish, Assassin? Don't look at me like that, we're in this mess together, what's the point in hiding your motives any longer?"

The masked woman lowered her head, thinking. The girl poked her older companion in the arm to encourage her.

"We are one split into many. But we want to be one again. Only one. We want to have a perfect personality."

For a few seconds there was a strange silence between the Servants on the roof. Saber was first to burst out laughing, making Assassin mad and ready to attack him with a knife.

"What's so funny about it? Explain!"

"Sorry, I didn't want to offend you, but… Haven't you realized yet that it's an impossible wish? And, what's more important, it's a waste of time and effort."

"What? Why?!"

"He wants to say, that it's not wise to ask for something that you already have." Robin decided to explain Saber's words. "Something like 'a perfect personality' just doesn't exist, you know?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand your babbling…" Asako was confused, but the girl was listening carefully.

"Please explain," she said calmly, really curious.

"Well, every single human has a complicated personality," Siegfried said, still smiling to himself. "There are many different persons inside us. In me, for example, there's a warrior, a stupid unlucky guy, a reckless adventurer…" He laughed, thinking of even more personalities hidden within him. "Archer too. Deep inside he's like a knight in shining armor. Also he's an animal lover. And a crybaby."

"Hey!" Robin wanted to protest, but surprisingly failed and only blushed. It was hilarious. "Shut up, I know your weak spot, you know?"

Siegfried chuckled, but both Assassins looked serious and focused, so he continued calmly:

"Anyway, it's like with the light. It's white, but when you look through the prism, you'll see a rainbow. Every color is important and together they make you who you really are."

"So you say that it's normal, but what makes you a complete entity?"

"Our ideals," Saber said softly.

"Our hearts," Archer added without hesitation and the girl smiled, realizing that they mean the same thing.

"So what should we do?"

Archer smiled, and it was a really warm, kind expression.

"If there's something that all of you want, just work together and make it happen. That's all." He blinked, looking at something far away on the sky, a single moving point. "And here comes our dear Rider."

"The eyesight of the Archer class is really terrifying." Siegfried stood up. "Let's welcome the guests. I hope Lancer won't get mad at us for organizing the meeting here."

"Wait…" Robin's reaction was priceless. "You didn't tell her?"

"You think I should? Ooops." Saber left the roof in a great hurry.

"Wha… What an idiot!" It took Robin a while to discover, that Siegfried was only making fun of him. "That wasn't funny! Not at all!"

But he, too, was laughing.

* * *

Thank You for reading! So the promised new character has finally appeared. I would be happy to know Your opinions.


	12. 12: At Least We Tried

**12: At Least We Tried**

 _"_ _So what we're going to do, Master? Kill them one after another or all at once?"_

* * *

Sola-Ui really felt like she'd been born anew.

It was a refreshing sensation - to walk the silent streets of Fuyuki at night, not being locked in the apartment, like nothing more than Kayneth's possession. She hesitated only for a while when Avenger proposed to leave their temporal hideout and take a look on 'the future battleground', thinking that their enemies would attack if they spot two women walking around so carelessly.

"Let them try," her Servant replied with a wide, disturbingly innocent smile. Somehow it washed away all Sola's doubts and fears in a second.

Her fallen princess of the North, her Black Widow was strong, Sola-Ui knew it. But magical and physical strength alone were not enough, they must be prepared for every challenge. Avenger was late, she missed many occasions to watch their potential opponents in action, to discover their weak spots and special moves. That was a duty of her Master - to fill the Servant with all the knowledge she and Kayneth had gathered until now.

"Tohsaka's classless Servant seems the most powerful and troublesome," she said, breathing in the cold, night air. "He can summon multiple weapons out of nowhere and fire them like rain on his prey."

"Interesting," Avenger murmured, although it was not certain if she means Gilgamesh's unique abilities or just the lights on distant buildings. She was curious about everything in the modern world, but her expression seemed strangely nostalgic.

"Then there's Einzbern's Lancer, the mounted warrior. She gives some dark vibes, just like you, no one doubts that she's dangerous."

"Oh? A fallen knight? Now I'm interested." Avenger smiled, involuntarily touching the hilt of her sword, like checking if the blade is safe and within her reach. "I guess we can have a nice and long conversation… with our weapons."

Sola-Ui chuckled at her Servant's enthusiasm. Kayneth's pathetic Archer had been almost crushed by Lancer and had nothing good to say about her except stating that 'she's scary'. Avenger did not look worried at all, quite the opposite to be honest.

"And the last one who can match your potential is Einzbern's Saber, I think." Sola-Ui tilted her head, taking a closer look at the dark sword, which seemed corrupted by shadow. "Actually, the sword he uses is almost like yours. But his blade is silver and pure." She chuckled. "Make me think of a typical hero in shining armor, truly!"

A strange light appeared in Avenger's red eyes.

"How does he look like?"

"Him? Tall, muscular. Long, platinum hair. Blue eyes. A shining pattern on his chest. Quite handsome to me."

Avenger went silent for a long, disturbing while. Sola-Ui tried to understand all the emotions hidden in her strange expression: was it sadness? Anticipation? Hope or longing? Maybe a little bit of everything at once?

"You know him?" – she asked, bringing her Servant back to reality.

"Maybe," the black widow replied carefully, but then shrugged, like it didn't matter. She quickly returned to her old, suspiciously optimistic self. "So what we're going to do, Master? Kill them one after another or all at once? Maybe you want to punish Archer for not saving you? I'm good in taking revenge on such unworthy men."

Sola-Ui blinked, surprised, but then laughed at loud at this 'innocent' proposition.

It sounded fun, to be honest. Yeah, they're definitely going to punish a lot of unworthy men's scum together.

* * *

"Huh? Someone's trying to be stylish by coming late?" Robin raised one eyebrow, looking at their last guest. Siegfried sighed, noticing that Archer behaves much more bravely than usual when he's safely hidden behind his bigger friend's back.

Gilgamesh, in all his shining glory, stared at Robin like at an interesting cockroach, which surprisingly developed an ability to speak.

"Trying?" The King of Heroes clearly wanted to say something more mean, but focused on Lancer and Rider – with Waver behind his back; although he was the only Master present at their meeting, the rest was certainly listening carefully from distance - then at the wine in their glasses, and winced meaningfully.

"What's wrong, Goldy?" Rider sniffed, checking the red liquid, but did not see anything unusual about it. "We're not going to poison you, so sit, have a drink."

"You truly are a barbarian to propose someone such a lowly liquor. It's not good enough to call it a wine."

"Hmmm…" Iskandar was only slightly offended. "It's the best I could find in this town."

"Hmpf," Gilgamesh snorted and, before he finally decided to sit down between Lancer and Rider, he summoned a jug and new glasses from one of his golden portals. "I'm not sure if all of you are worthy of such noble drink, but… Let it be, just once. Know the generosity of your king. You gave me some fun, after all."

No one commented, probably they were all charmed by the outstanding quality of Gilgamesh's wine. Such a good drink was worth enduring a bit of mocking.

"That was really something," Rider admitted with appreciation. "So, Archer. Tell us what you know."

"Right." Robin cleared his throat before speaking; his cheeks were almost red from wine, jitters or maybe from both. "Something sleeps under the mountain. It gathers dark energy, seems to grow stronger with every defeated Servant. And still wants more, I guess, because it summons more Servants than usual, so we can assume tha…"

"Wait." Gilgamesh shamelessly interrupted Archer's speech. "We came here only to be filled with some… speculations and childish fears? I've been told that this so-called meeting will be about the Grail."

"Of course it is about the Grail!" Robin frowned. "What did you think? That we'll gather here, discuss for a while and choose a winner?"

"Something like that, as expected from famous kings and heroes, but it's rather hopeless with such ignorant mongrels like you around."

"Actually this is a good idea." Rider stroke his beard, ignoring Robin's non-verbal protests. "But, unfortunately, we must discuss something else first."

"Yes!" To say that Archer was irritated would be an understatement. "We have the Grail that is probably corrupted, because it acts on his own, summons evil and classless Heroic Spirits, and gathers energy for something… I don't really know what kind of 'something' it is, but it can't be good!"

"What would happen if we just agree to stop this madness?" Surprisingly, Asako came to Robin's aid. "The Grail War wouldn't end anyway, would it?"

When no one dared to speculate about it, Siegfried decided to speak.

"If the system recognizes it as an alliance, it will just summon more Servants, a full team, to fight us. The same thing will happen if we decide to destroy the Grail. Well, probably. No, this War won't end, at least some of us must die to end it."

 _And Lady Irisviel… Iri… will die as well_ , Saber thought. They all must have noticed his worried expression and clenched fist, but his words surprised them even more.

"You know unexpectedly much about this matter, Saber," Arturia commented, her golden eyes pierced Siegfried like knives.

"I'm not even sure why… Don't ask me. It may be just a memory of my core. Anyway…"

"…we have no choice but to kill each other?" Assassin could not see any other solution.

"No, we have a choice." Siegfried shook his head, he was absolutely serious. "As legendary heroes we need to do what is right. It's our duty to choose the right path."

"Oh?" Iskandar looked surprised, but he asked honestly, without mockery. "And what are you planning to do, Dragon Slayer?"

"I won't be fighting anymore."

"Really? What a strange thing to hear from you. Are you a coward?"

"No, I just follow the orders of my Master."

"Then I expect you" – Arturia looked extremely serious – "to understand why I can't abandon the Grail, Saber. I, too, will simply follow the wish of my Master. It's my duty as a knight."

"You, once the greatest king of Britain, degraded yourself to a role of a subject, Lancer?" Gilgamesh sipped his wine, his movements were extremely elegant.

"We, Heroic Spirits, were summoned here to help our Masters, inspire them, maybe even to guide – that's exactly what's legends are for. Any of us who forgets about his role and tries to rule mortals or change reality long after his death, should be punished. Such behavior is simply unforgivable. I'm not a king anymore, my time has long gone, but I will always remain a knight. I will simply crush anything on my Master's path to victory, that's all."

"I take it for a challenge." Even Gilgamesh's eyes were smiling at this possibility.

"Do as you please, King of Heroes." Arturia was not losing this exchange of predatory expressions.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Robin could not stand it anymore. "Have you heard nothing of what had been just said? Most likely something really bad is going to happen if we keep fighting each other, and you still insist on continuing the War? Really?"

"Archer," Rider spoke up at last, more serious than before. "I understand what you're trying to say but tell me, honestly… what do you think we should do?"

"I have no idea! That's why we gathered here tonight. A bunch of extremely famous heroes should be at least able to figure something out, right?"

A heavy silence was the only answer for his question.

"Well, that's what I thought. Seems I was wrong. This wine doesn't help us either…" Archer sighed. "But… We must consider the possibility that the wish a of the winner won't be granted. And our deaths will be absolutely meaningless."

"So we should have some fun before it happens?" Rider smiled. Behind him Waver swallowed slowly, truly terrified. "Sounds good to me."

"No, I mean… eh, whatever."

"As expected, this conversation is meaningless." Lancer closed her eyes, refusing to take a part in this farce any longer.

"I agree." Gilgamesh was first to stand up. "But it was not a complete waste of time. Do as you please, funny mongrels. I won't let you lay a hand on the Grail anyway." He turned around and it was obvious, that he speaks only to Arturia. "You'll have to come and take it."

Fortunately for everyone, he vanished before the King of Knights has completely lost her patience.

"What about you, King of Conquerors?" – Siegfried asked after a moment of heavy silence, hoping that at least one Servant will join his crazy alliance.

"I haven't decided yet." Rider summoned his chariot with a quick slash of his sword. "I need to consider it first, and find more evidence before I'll give you my answer. Is it enough for you, Saber?"

"More than enough."

"Good." Iskandar smiled. "Whatever happens, remember that you promised me a nice duel. I look forward to it!"

Siegfried could not hide his smile. He really liked this charismatic Servant.

"Ah, be sure that I will keep my promise."

Lancer looked at Saber for a while, before she stood up and declared:

"So our alliance ends here, despite what our Masters may think."

"We both knew this moment will come, sooner or later. Our goals were different from the very beginning."

Arturia nodded.

"Good that we agree on this matter. It's nothing personal. I won't deny that I can be ruthless when it's needed, but I wish not to kill children, especially the child of my Master. I won't hurt Illyasviel, I can promise you at least this one thing."

"I really appreciate it," Siegfried replied honestly. "But I refuse to fight you anyway."

"Hmm." Arturia's smile was a rare view… and simply stunning.

Lancer had clearly nothing more to say, so she disappeared into her spirit form, leaving Siegfried lost deeply in thought.

"Hey, reality is calling, we have no time! You're not Heroic Spirit Romeo, you know?!" Archer pressed a finger to his lips, thinking. "I suppose Romeo would materialize in Saber class as well, don't you think?"

"I'm… not sure if I want to know, really." Siegfried blinked several times at the thought. "We should go. Too bad the meeting ended this way, we still don't know what to do…"

"Well, at least we tried." Robin shrugged. "Assassin, you're going with us?" Suddenly the green bowman tensed and stepped back; his unexpected nervousness made Siegfried alert as well. "Hey, are you angry or something? What's wrong?"

Asako did not answer, she only clenched her fists in frustration and melted with shadows around the castle. Both Archer and Saber stood there for a while, focused on their surroundings, like expecting a sudden assault. When nothing suspicious happened, Robin stared questioningly at Siegfried, but the swordsman only sighed.

"I'm not sure what'd just happened, but I guess there's only two of us now. Other alliances ended quickly, don't you think?"

"At least we tried," Archer repeated. "Come, big guy, Operation Sakura can't wait any longer."

Saber nodded.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he said later, following Archer through the sleeping forest near the castle. "My Master wants to speak with you when we'll return."

"You mean _if_ we'll return…"

"No," Siegfried said with an absolute confidence in his voice. " _When_ we'll return."

Archer did not say a thing, but deep inside, for the first time since his summoning, he felt that he's in the right place at the right time.

* * *

Black bulls ran through the sleeping streets of Fuyuki. Only sounds of their hooves – and one very grumpy Master - disturbed the silence in this part of the city.

"Riiideeeeeer, what did you mean by 'have some fun', huh? Are you going to run around like a madman you are, conquering towns or something? Don't you think that I may have something to say about it? Hey!" Waver's verbal rampage ended suddenly, when their chariot stopped violently in the middle of the red bridge. Young Master almost broke his nose while hitting Rider's back, completely unprepared for the impact. "What are y… What?! Another Servant?"

Iskandar nodded, staring at the woman in black dress, who was standing just a few meters before the chariot. Her Master was nowhere to be seen, so she must have detected them sooner and prepared the ambush.

"It seems that the Grail is really broken, it just keeps summoning strange Heroic Spirits… What can you see, boy?"

Waver blinked, trying to 'read' the abilities of the enemy Servant.

"She has attributes of Saber and Berserker class, and her aura is similar to Lancer's. She's probably a fallen knight, too. A powerful one. And… I-is that Saber's sword?" The young magus shivered. "She can steal Noble Phantasms? Maybe this is the reason why Saber refused to fight?"

"I doubt something like that is possible."

"But be careful anyway."

Iskandar did not answer, focused on the warrior before him. His eyes were carefully scanning the woman, seeking her weak points and clues.

Sure that Rider found nothing that could help him during their fight, Avenger smiled and walked up to him. She bowed slightly, like a true princess, and King of Conquerors found her surprisingly charming for a fallen warrior… at least until she spoke.

"Nice to meet you, Rider. I'm glad you came. I was getting frustrated and bored of walking pointlessly through the town, so don't worry. I'll end you quickly."

"Oh?" Iskandar seemed as cheerful as usual, but Waver could feel the energy gathered around him. He was prepared to charge at the enemy and smash her, no doubt. "What a bold thing to say by someone who steals other hero's sword!"

All her charm vanished in a blink of an eye, when the woman in black entered Berserker's mode.

"How dare you?! This sword is my legacy! It had been stolen, that's true, but I came through hell to get it back." The way she grabbed her gigantic weapon seemed strangely familiar. "And I let no one insult me like that!"

"I see." Rider stroke his beard. "I think I know who you are." His little provocation worked surprisingly well, but knowing a trigger to make her mad was not a meaningful advantage. Better this than nothing, though.

"It doesn't matter for me." Her sword started emitting strange shadows when she launched an attack. "Die!"

 _"_ _Light is at the other end of the world — conquer! Via Expugnatio!"_ Rider did not wait either, his bulls charged forward at full speed, the entire chariot became an electrified, deadly weapon.

Shadow clashed with lightning with a terrible noise. The energy of the impact threw the chariot few meters back. In silence that had fallen on the battlefield only one sound ringed in their ears - a woman's hysterical laugher.

Waver opened his eyes, shut during their short but fierce duel, to glance at their enemy. She looked… bruised, like she had been hit by a train, but clearly wasn't damaged enough to stop laughing.

"Is this all you've got?" The black Servant raised her sword, preparing Noble Phantasm – a raging inferno of twirling dark energy.

Waver swallowed at the view.

"Riiiideeer!" He desperately pulled Iskandar's coat. They weren't ready for something like that.

"Ah, this time you're right, boy." The bulls made an angry noise when their master ordered them to raise into the air. "It's a good moment for tactical retreat."

They were flying above the city for a while in complete silence. Iskandar seemed more gloomy than ever, maybe just lost in thought, or maybe…

"Rider?" - Waver asked hesitantly, disturbingly quiet. He almost clung to his Servant's back. "Are you angry?"

"What? Why do you ask, boy?"

"Because… because of my panic attack we ran away from the battlefield… like cowards…"

The King of Conquerors remained silent for a while, but then burst out laughing. When he spoke at last, there was something warmer in his voice. He was clearly proud of his young Master.

"Have I not told you that you were right, boy? You read the situation perfectly. No sane warrior would challenge a dangerous lunatic without a plan. Next time we will be prepared and we'll win."

"I see." Even if Waver was still hesitant, Iskandar's kind words really calmed his heart.

* * *

Thank You for reading! It's nice to be back here! Sorry for keep you waiting for so long and many thanks for voting in the poll - the winners will certainly appear in the continuation (if You still want to read this story, of course).

Also, I work on a new project, inspired by FGO, starring: Arthur Pendragon, Beowulf, Caster Cu, Sasaki Kojiro, Diarmuid and more... Please let me know if You're interested in such story, AU with a lot of computers and time travels.

Thanks again and see you next time!


	13. 13: 'Operation Sakura' part I

Hello again! It would be an extremely long chapter, so I divided it into two parts. I hope You'll enjoy. Don't hesitate to comment or contact me.

* * *

 **13: 'Operation Sakura' part I**

 _"_ _What will you do, shining hero? Will you burn the entire district to the ground with your holy sword?"_

* * *

Tokiomi could not believe his own eyes.

He came to the church to speak with Risei Kotomine, to finally find out if the old priest sided with Kirei or remained unaware of his son's machinations. If the supervisor was trustworthy, there was still a chance to bring the situation back to normal and increase Tohsaka's chances of winning.

The red magus realized that something is wrong as soon as he stepped over the threshold. His magical shield raised automatically, so he proceeded with caution. The metallic smell in the air was that of blood, no doubt. Also the silence around the place, abnormally deep, was more than disturbing.

He did not know how to react when he finally saw Risei Kotomine lying dead on the floor in the pool of his own blood.

Who could have done such thing in the middle of the Grail War? It was an unforgivable violation of the rules!

At this moment Tokiomi finally realized the sad truth about this war. No one respected his beloved rules anymore. Some of the participants ignored them from the very beginning.

He clenched his fists in frustration. He was not used to operate in such chaos. He, protector of these lands, had been fooled by almost everyone, and did not like this feeling in the slightest.

Tokiomi glanced involuntarily at his own hand. The shining red circles of Command Spells have never made him so angry before. It was not a blessing, but a curse, to have such powerful, disobedient Servant. He should get rid of Gilgamesh, right here and now, using all his spells to achieve this goal.

But he will lose the last advantage in his so-called alliance with Kiritsugu Emiya, won't he? Strange as it might seem, Master of Lancer did not betray Tokiomi… yet. How much longer would their forced cooperation last? With Risei dead, who will stop Kiritsugu from beheading his servantless rival later?

No, such thoughts were not acceptable for Tokiomi. He will never give up. He must make the teamwork last to the very end. Maybe a geas would be enough for both sides to respect the contract?

After all he had some very useful information – about spells, Fuyuki lay lines and, of course, Kirei Kotomine – to trade for his own safety.

* * *

"So even that disgusting worm couldn't help me survive for much longer?"

Kariya knew he was dying. He was aware of this fact from the very beginning of the War, yet simply ignored it, focused on his unreachable goal. Later he began to share the madness of his Servant. Actually, it was a blessing – to forget about everything, just fight, fight, fight, jump forward, into to the deepest pits of hell.

Sometimes, though, he used to wake up from this delirium and suffer even more. During rare moments of partial sanity, his own mortality hit him harder than ever.

"Berserker is strong", he kept repeating, trying to convince himself about it. "Other Servants are afraid of him!"

But sometimes the weakest part of his mind asked some unwanted questions. What if other parties just ignored him, because he's not a threat? What if his Black Knight is not strong enough?

And the most important one: what happens to Sakura if he won't make it?

Kariya shivered, frightened. He had never thought about it before.

 _She will be left alone at the mercy of Zouken._

No, she's not alone! Even if he wouldn't be able to protect her, the girl still had a family. She had grandparents, not Tohsaka but Zenjou family can take care of her. How could he forget about it - he, who spent half of his childhood in Zenjou's house?

Kariya felt ashamed. In his madness he had stopped caring for Sakura. His jealously and thirst for vengeance on the elegant red magus, who had taken the love of Kariya's life for himself, blinded him.

 _What a brilliant idea you had, Kariya! You thought you could win Aoi by delivering Sakura to her. You thought that getting rid of that cursed Tohsaka would make you steal his family and live happily ever after. You thought you love Sakura and Rin, but you wanted only to please their mother. You thought you want to save the girl, but in the end you forgot about her, you gave in to your greed and sick ambition…_

Kariya shook his head, trying to banish such ugly thoughts from his weary mind. He had no time to take pity on himself. It could be the last moment to correct his mistakes.

He could barely move and had to focus all his energy on remembering the phone number. He tried to crawl but couldn't catch a breath. It was truly pathetic.

"Berserker… damn you. Just help me one last time."

The black Servant materialized near him obediently, waiting for orders, and Kariya gave them.

 _That was a really stupid way to use a Command Spell_. The battered magus couldn't hold a smile at his own thought. But when the last red mark vanished from his hand, he felt nothing but relief.

* * *

Aoi Tohsaka glanced nervously at her watch for the hundredth time during last few minutes. She sighed, trying to remain calm and focus on the road. There was no turning back now, she should drive fast but also carefully, having such important companion in her car.

Rin was sitting in silence on the backseat, watching carefully her magic compass. To be honest, Tokiomi's gift can be useful for them sooner than expected, as well as Rin's natural abilities to detect traces of magical energy.

Aoi sighed again, doubting her own decision to take Rin to Fuyuki, but she truly had no other choice. The girl was smart and stubborn, she would follow her mother anyway. Coming together seemed a much better option than losing sight of Rin even for a moment or letting her wander this dangerous city alone.

Kariya's voice was still ringing in Aoi's head. She didn't even know that he had come back to his family, not to mention his current state – hallucinations, probably a fever, maybe something worse. He sounded like a drugged or very sick person who can die any moment.

Well, even if all he had said through the phone was really a madman's babbling, the part about Sakura in danger in Matou's household hit the spot. Aoi believed Kariya in this matter, such pure despair in his voice couldn't be pretended. She had no possibility to contact Tokiomi – the man would rather die than use a normal phone – or hope that he would help. Aoi acted now against her husband's will... and did not feel sorry about it, not even for a moment.

But – honestly – what she's going to do? Knock to the old Zouken's door and say that she came to take Sakura back home?

Well, maybe that was everything she could do, but she will try anyway.

* * *

"I think we should sneak in and launch a surprise attack," Archer said, glancing at the dark walls of Matou's residence. In his opinion this house really gave some extremely unfriendly, cold vibes, like a typical vampire castle from fairy tales. "But how do we get in?"

Saber ignored Archer's question and advices. He looked carefully at the front door, then suddenly hit them with one of his metal-gloved hands.

"It's open," he said innocently, when the door shattered into tiny pieces of wood, and drew his sword.

"Well, that ends the 'surprise' part." Archer sighed. "No wonder that you and Rider understand each other perfectly."

"You really think that they don't know about our intrusion?" Siegfried did not even look at Robin, only showed him an ugly bug with a glowing red eye, staring at them from the wall. It looked like a magical version of security camera.

"Nah… It was rather a bad habit of mine - to be invisible as long as possible. Forget about it."

"Sure," Saber answered blankly, already stepping in and looking around in the gloomy corridor.

"Man, you entered the dragon's cave like THAT too?" Robin was not so eager to carelessly march forward into the enemy's nest; he proceeded carefully after Saber, like his animated shadow.

"Exactly."

"How reckless."

"I know. But it was the only way back then."

"Did you hear that? In the basement?"

"Yes." Siegfried was already coming down the stairs, but Archer stopped on the corridor, not sure what to do. He noticed a commotion on the first floor, they must have woken someone up while destroying the entrance. Maybe it was Sakura? Maybe he should take her to a safe place first?

 _Freeing the girl without getting rid of the vampire first would do no good_ , Archer thought _. And if there's a real threat in the basement, the big guy may not be able to make it alone. I promised to guard his back._

Sighing all the way down, Robin followed Saber to the basement and froze immediately when he finally got there.

It was a dungeon of one's worst nightmares, with thousands of bugs crawling deep inside the cold stone abyss. Just watching them, just listening to the sound of their countless chitinous legs, made him want to vomit.

"What in the…"

Saber, as shocked as his companion, tightened the grip on his sword. Probably he was planning to burn the entire place with Balmung's light.

"She was forced to spend so many nights in here?" His voice was cold and full of anger. "Unforgivable."

Robin swallowed but couldn't disagree. What's more, he did not intend to stop Siegfried from destroying this terrible place.

"What do you think you're doing?" Some worms separated from the rest, forming a figure of an old, bald man. Both Servants tensed, knowing that he's the monster they've been searching for. "What a disgraceful sight! Disobedient puppets of incompetent Masters should be kept on short leashes."

Siegfried could hardly withstand the presence of this… entity. His blood boiled, as always when he faced an evil creature. Such strong urge to kill it immediately was hard to suppress.

"Are you surprised? Or annoyed? Did you know who invented the Master-Servant system for this war? The Matou family." Zouken's lips formed a thin, cruel smile. "You are nothing but tools. Powerful ones, indeed, but only tools."

Saber was about to attack, but Archer was faster this time. His arrow hit the target between Zouken's eyes… Or it seemed so.

The old magus was still smiling, when useless missile fell on the floor and his body made of worms formed anew.

"I see… So he's yours." Archer must have been truly angry to sound so cold and ruthless. "Wash that insolent smile from his ugly face for me."

"Pride is the greatest weakness of Heroic Souls," Zouken said and activated his only Command Spell. "But there are many ways to crush it."

"Wait, he's a Master too?"

"Watch out!"

Siegfried stepped back in the last possible moment, avoiding a black mass that had attacked him. Berserker growled and look around to find something he could use as a weapon against Saber's ridiculously large sword.

"I thought that Master of Berserker…"

"It's not important now!" Robin reloaded his crossbow and fired at Berserker. "Look, the vampire is running away!"

They both knew it's a good sign – the Matou magus would not bother to flee if they couldn't really harm him. But it was a hopeless situation. Before his defeat, Berserker would buy his so-called Master enough time to hide. They might never be able to find Zouken again.

"Go, destroy that bastard." Archer jumped on the stairs to a more favorable position for a sniper. "I will stop Berserker."

Something in his gaze or tone must have alarmed Siegfried, because he frowned meaningfully. But he said nothing in the end, only nodded.

"Just remember that you promised to speak with Illya later," he said already in the run, chasing after the disgusting figure made of worms.

"Of course. I would be a complete failure if I couldn't defeat at least one Servant, don't you think, big guy?"

Not sure if Saber had heard him, Robin smiled to himself. He was determined to take down Berserker before he'll vanish for good from the material world.

* * *

"Mom, Mom! Look, the compass!"

Aoi looked at Rin and held her breath. The compass, that usually hanged on Rin's neck, now was floating in the air. Its needle went mad, circling like crazy, and the raging energy , stronger than wind, moved Rin's hair.

 _What the hell is going on in this city?_

"Uh, it stopped?" The little girl seemed disappointed when everything around her calmed down almost immediately. "But it still shows the way. Should we go and take a look, Mom?"

"No way!" Aoi grabbed her daughter's hand and gently caressed her hair, mostly to hide her own fear. Tokiomi was right, they shouldn't stay in Fuyuki during the Grail War.

But Sakura was here, trapped in the gloomy residence, in the centre of this magical hurricane the compass had showed them just a moment ago. It was enough for her mother to keep going.

"Come, Rin, we're almost here."

And then a mix of blue and golden energy, which looked like it was coming from a giant, round lamp, lightened up the sky two streets further.

* * *

"Tch." Siegfried clenched his teeth, suspecting that all his effort is useless against this fiend. Following Zouken was easy enough, but Saber quickly realized that he won't be able to harm the vampire without using his Noble Phantasm.

Knowing this, the old magus lured his pursuer into an inhabited area.

"What will you do, shining hero? Will you burn the entire district to the ground with your holy sword?"

Zouken laughed. His voice – and harmless bites of the insects - was coming from every direction, to mock already enraged Saber and make him give up the pursuit.

"I can help!" Suddenly Siegfried heard Illya's voice inside his head. The girl was very excited, like she had just won a walnut counting contest or learned a new trick. "I'll make a barrier! Sella told me how!"

"M-mas… Illya, you can do it from such distance?"

"Um. Because I'm a champion and we are so well connected!" In response she just casted the spell. Siegfried and the mass of bugs were now trapped inside the huge bubble. "See?" The girl laughed cheerfully, proud of her own achievement. "Who's the strongest magical princess in town?"

"You are, Illya."

"Good. Show me your Noble Phantasm at last, Saber! Show everyone how strong you are! No ugly bug will sneak out now."

For less than a second, Siegfried hesitated. If the barrier is strong enough to withstand Balmung's blast, the energy will be reflected and Saber will end up hit by his own Noble Phantasm. If Illya's magic is still too weak to stop the ray of energy, the nearest houses will be destroyed, their innocent inhabitants killed in explosion...

There was nothing to fear, Saber realized. Despite the fact that Illyasviel was still a little girl, Siegfried believed in his Master.

" _The evil dragon will fall_ …" He smiled gently and touched the jewel on the hilt to activate its magic. A ray of blue and golden light raised into the air inside Illya's barrier.

The flying worms kept hitting the surface of a magical bubble but couldn't break through it. Zouken, more and more desperate with every passing second, half-materialized before Siegfried.

"What are you doing, idiot? You want to destroy us both?"

Saber had never considered the possibility of being hit by his own Noble Phantasm, so he wasn't sure how badly damaged he would be after such blow. As long as he survives it's not important. The evil creature must be annihilated, that's all that matters right now.

" _Fall – Balmung_!"

With his eyes closed, Siegfried clung his back to the barrier and focused on enduring the blue and golden inferno he himself had unleashed.


	14. 14: 'Operation Sakura' part II

**14: 'Operation Sakura' part II**

 _Heroes of justice just don't exist._

* * *

Berserker did not even bother to dodge Archer's arrows. They were simply useless against his armor, like a horde of mosquitoes challenging a tank.

Robin could think of many possibilities to set up a trap and defeat his mad adversary but, unfortunately, none of them would work in current conditions. If he'd only had a chance to lure him out of this creepy basement… He was almost sure that his Noble Phantasm would be enough to destroy Berserker. Too bad he wasn't in a situation to even think about using it, jumping from one recess in the wall to another to avoid the strikes. Ugly bugs kept attacking Robin's legs every time he came too close, which also did not help him stay alive.

 _I feel like a bloody grasshopper!_

Jump back, reload, shoot, jump, reload, shoot. Someone must get tired at last and more determined Servant will become the winner of this meaningless duel.

"Hey, we're both vanishing, right? Or maybe the vampire gives you energy now? Anyway, don't you think that our fight is pointless, scary black friend?"

"Aaaaaaaartttttttthhhhaaaa!"

"That's what I thought."

"Aaaagrhhh!" The next blow almost crushed Archer's arm. Lacking sufficient objects to use as a weapon, Berserker threw at Robin fragment of a wall.

"I see. So this is about 'honor' you knights babble about so often?" Surprisingly even for himself, the Servant in green smiled. "And this is also why I don't want to lose to you so badly?"

This short moment of distraction almost cost Robin his head.

"To think that you forced me to use my daggers…. You must be a famous hero, huh?"

Pale and exhausted, Archer dived between Berserker's legs. It was a dangerous maneuver, mostly because of the bugs on the floor. Robin frowned, expecting painful bites…

But they didn't come. All insects in the basement suddenly stopped moving. Their fat abdomens shrunk, cut off from the life source.

 _Good job, big guy._

Archer felt relief. Even if he won't be able to survive this fight, his job is already done.

* * *

Siegfried was breathing heavily, a bit disorientated after the hit of anti-dragon typhoon. The fact that he survived didn't mean that it doesn't hurt.

 _I think I understand now why dragons hate me so much…_

"Saber? Saber!" He could feel a healing magic coming from his little Master. He must have scared her by this unexpected moment of silence.

"I'm ok, Illya. Thank you, but, please, do not exhaust yourself."

"Um. I knew you can do it! You're the strongest after all."

Siegfried usually didn't like being praised, but this time he just knew they did the right thing. Nothing left from the old vampire and his insects, not even a pile of dust on the ground.

 _The world will be a better place now, perhaps… And I'll just need to rest for a while. Only a short while_.

He shook his head, knowing that he has no second to waste. Archer was fighting for his life, probably needed help.

And then Saber shivered, feeling a hurricane of emotions from his Master: fear, shock, despair.

"Illya?! Can you hear me? What's happened?"

"Mommy! Mommy fell on the floor!" Illya wasn't a powerful magus right now, but a frightened child her age. Saber was amazed how she can easily switch between 'sweet kid' and 'aggressive adult' modes. Maybe it was like this because of her homunculi origin? "She just… Aaaaaaah!"

"Illya?" Although all that Siegfried wanted at this moment was to appear immediately at his Master's side, he needed to stay calm to not scare her needlessly.

"I'm fine, but… Something exploded. Daddy said that Lancer's fighting and that all will be fine." She hesitated for a moment, but clearly lost a fight with her own fear and started to cry. "Please come back, Saber. Please don't leave me!"

"I won't leave you." His short, simple answer calmed her down in an instant. "I'm coming. Don't waste a Command Spell. Lancer will protect you."

"Um." Her quiet sobbing was much better than panicked cries. _Good, she'll be fine_ , Siegfried thought, surprised how much he wanted to give Illya a hug.

Something else still bothered him... Which Servant would suddenly attack the castle after their meeting? Siegfried did not expect the King of Conquerors to invade their base, so it must be Assassin or Gilgamesh… Arturia was more than capable to take care of both of them, but Saber knew he need to hurry. He suspected that enemies will use Illya against them if they only have a chance.

Dispersing his shattered armor, which seemed much heavier than ever, Siegfried stood up at last, ready for another round.

* * *

"Why you have to be this strong?"

Robin clenched his teeth and blocked another blow with his daggers. His arms were already shaking, his weapons looked as battered as their owner. Having no opportunity to increase the distance between them, he was forced to fight for his life on Berserker's terms.

"Next time summon me as a Saber..." Although giving up was not in his nature, Archer simply had no chance to avoid the next strike.

Berserker, already in the middle of a powerful swing, abandoned the idea of crushing his defenseless foe. He turned around to face another opponent, a dark one, with a short sword in hand.

"Assassin?" A quick glance at the surroundings told Archer that the entire army of Assassins has come to his aid. "What are you doing here?"

"Making my wish come true," all black silhouettes answered as one. "We all decided. We all came. We are whole."

Thankful for this unexpected help – and sure that he has just exploited the entire reserve of his luck – Robin dared to suspect that he still has a chance to win this battle.

* * *

"Tell me, Kirei, why you just sit here and do nothing? You'll let your own Servant betray you?"

Kotomine was working in his room, totally focused on the dead bat in his hands. Catching one of these smart familiars was not easy, but certainly worth the effort - and crucial for his new plan.

"I have my reasons. The best moment to punish him is about to come. Besides, Assassin's pitiful rebellion works in my favor," Kirei explained, not even looking at his guest. "And I'm sure you won't complain if that failure of a Servant somehow manages to eliminate Berserker."

"Oh?" Gilgamesh frowned, the fire in his gaze was dangerous. "You suggest that I can't defeat the mad dog myself?"

"No, I would never say anything so ridiculous. I meant only that it would be pretty convenient for both of us."

"Why are you concerned?" The King of Heroes sat at the sofa and, shamelessly as always, took care of Kirei's wine. "You suddenly decided to help Tokiomi?"

"Not Tokiomi. You, Gilgamesh. Think of it as of a kind of bargain."

"What do you want in exchange?"

"Not much, don't be suspicious." A faint smile brightened Kirei's face. It looked strangely disturbing in the red glow from Gilgamesh's cup. "I want you only to look away when I'll be doing what I plan to do."

"Now it piqued my curiosity, Kirei." Gilgamesh chuckled and stretched himself on the sofa. "But you must be careful. Tokiomi may be boring but he's not a complete idiot. The sole fact that he has never tried to force me to do anything is enough for a proof."

"He's naïve and trusts people. For me it's the definition of being a complete idiot."

The King of Heroes chuckled again, amazed how, after so many ages, humanity still fascinates him.

* * *

Lancer was more excited than she really should be. Her Master believed in her strength and sent her to fight at last. That was a purpose of a Servant and the fact, that her adversary was a new, unknown Heroic Spirit, did not matter. Any intruder stupid enough to step on Arturia's territory will taste the power of Rhongomyniad.

Llamrei, as excited as her rider, was galloping through the forest at full speed. The mare neighed loudly, sensing a presence of the enemy, and waited for Arturia's orders.

"Another dark knight, huh?"

The intruder did not look surprised or intimidated at all – a strange woman in black dress stood proudly in the face of danger. Golden eyes met red eyes in tensed silence.

"Well, well… We expected someone else to be here, but this is even better. A Lancer is one of the knight classes, so you won't run away like that pathetic Rider, am I right?"

"Why should I?" Arturia smiled viciously, feeling that she has finally found a capable opponent. "And I won't give you a chance to escape. I'll annihilate you here and now."

"Try then, I won't stop you." Avenger unsheathed her sword. "Just hurry up and die quickly. You're standing on my way."

Lancer laughed at such ridiculous threat, but something about the black, corrupted blade seemed odd.

"Why do you use Saber's sword?" She frowned, suspicious. "He's been defeated?"

"So it's really him…" Avenger whispered and suddenly lowered her weapon. "Tell me, mounted knight, are you Saber's ally?"

That was a strange question to ask in the middle of a confrontation, but Arturia did not mind it and spoke the truth.

"Not anymore."

"I see." Avenger's blade raised again immediately, at the level of her eyes, and that meant an intent to kill. "Too bad, I thought it would be nice to join forces with a fellow fallen hero. We're so much alike…"

Despite Avenger's last threats, her words seemed suspiciously tempting. Arturia could feel traces of charm magic in the air. This Heroic Spirit must have used lies and sweet promises to gain allies, so often, that it became one of her skills. It enraged Lancer even more. The destiny of a hero is to stand alone on his path, not stain the hands and minds of others with blood for his own purposes and beliefs.

"We're NOT alike," she growled coldly, readying the weapon. Llamrei shook her head, as bloodthirsty as her rider. "Prepare to die."

"Awesome!" Avenger chuckled like a little girl; her sanity was doubtful. "Such pride! Such power! I hate the ones like you! Come!"

* * *

The little army of Assassins at least managed to open Berserker's helmet. It was more than enough for Robin to use his ultimate attack. If the poison reaches the body of the mad Servant, it will be an end for him.

 _"_ _This arrow from my grave..."_

The green light, as bright as Archer's cloak, filled the basement. Three Assassins who tried to hold raging Berserker in place, fell on the floor, killed by just one strike of the black knight.

 _"_ _Tree of burial, hone your fangs."_

His beloved yew tree answered the call. Its roots caught Berserker, trapping him like a beast inside the cage…

 _"_ _Yew Bow!"_

…and exploded.

"A-aaa-ah, that was something, don't you think, Assassin?" - Archer said after a moment of heavy silence. He couldn't believe that it's finally over. "Assassin? What in the…?"

Forced by the power of the Command Spell, remained Assassins mechanically reached for their weapons. Not able to oppose such powerful order, they killed themselves, one by one.

"Damn you two, heroes of justice, for making me believe you."

But it did not sound like a real complaint, because they all – finally as one, complete entity - were smiling.

"How does it feel, Assassin?" – Robin asked with a strange, calm smile. "To die as a true hero?"

The answer never came – the fallen Servant already changed into a blue mist, that filled the basement like billions of fireflies. Archer sighed and looked at his own vanishing hand, which seemed almost transparent in such faint light.

And then he noticed a little girl on the stairs. _How long has she been here?_

"Why they died?" Sakura's quiet voice echoed through the basement. It sounded totally out of place here.

Robin did not know what to say. He couldn't judge from Sakura's blank expression if she speaks about Assassins or bugs. Archer took a deep breath and came up the stairs, trying to look as friendly as possible in his current state.

"Because their time has come," he said with a polite smile. "There will be no more fights or bugs in the basement."

"No more bugs room?"

"No more," he confirmed and reached out his hand to the girl.

Sakura did not accept it yet, only stared at Archer, like she was trying to find answers on his bruised, tired face.

"Grandpa won't be angry?" A distant echo of fear, that sounded in Sakura's voice, enraged Robin. But it was not important now, when the vampire was dead.

"Grandpa is gone."

"O-oh. And uncle Kariya?"

Archer felt relief, for the first time seeing emotions in Sakura's eyes. At last! So she cared for someone and still had hope. Maybe the girl is tougher than they thought and Zouken did not manage to break her completely.

"I don't know. But I have an idea – let's go and look for him together!" His smile was irresistible. "Ah, I almost forgot… You may call me Robin. Shall we go then?"

Sakura hesitated for a while, staring blankly at Archer's hand. Realizing that she has nowhere else to go or nobody to rely on, she nodded eventually and grasped his fingers, letting him lead her back to the light.

* * *

"You're an idiot." Archer laughed nervously, counting last Saber's mistakes. "You fired your own Noble Phantasm at yourself. You forgot about your riding skills and left your motorbike at home. Did I miss something?"

Siegfried only sighed, glancing at the empty Matou residence. He wondered if burning this place to the ground wouldn't be the best course of action… But he wasn't a pyromaniac and they had no more time to waste here.

"No, that's all," he admitted eventually. "I know I failed. Sorry."

"Big sword and a tiny brain, I knew it from the beginning! Your apologies won't help us get to the castle on time, you know? Too bad that stupidity can't fly. You would make a nice griffon already. Or a flying unicorn!"

"A dragon," Sakura said quietly, making both Servants focus on her. She reached out her hand, trying to touch the crest on Siegfried's chest. "You're a dragon."

"Yes, I am. Kind of." He smiled to the girl. Just like Illya, she was not afraid of him, but it did not seem surprising after the bugs hell she came through. _She must have some potential to see my true nature so easily._ "Speaking of dragons, I have an idea how to transport us, but…"

"But?" Robin was too tired to be angry anymore. Only a pure willpower – and a promise that he will speak with Illya – kept him materialized after the last fight.

"But it's too dangerous. It's the most unpredictable of my Noble Phantasms. And I don't think I have enough energy to use it now."

"So it's out of the question." Archer sighed. "Want a piggyback ride, Sakura?"

Having no other choice, they decided to run all the way to the forest. Speed of a Servant may be impressive for a mortal, but they still felt like moving painfully slow.

"Too bad I'm not a Lancer or a Rider," Saber said after a while. "They can be much faster than us."

"Speak of the devil…" Robin looked up. "I think that we've been spotted. Or rather we've been watched from the beginning."

Siegfried sighed helplessly, trying to notice anything at the night sky above their heads. He could feel a faint presence of the King of Conquerors but nothing more.

"And a magnificent eyesight of an Archer… I wonder why people think that Saber is the most powerful class."

"Yeah, you really are useless." Robin laughed at loud. "It's only a propaganda. Popularized by magi who think that any weapon other than sword is a trash. You know, the Arthurian Legends and stuff are to blame."

"Well said." Siegfried smiled. "Lancer may have something interesting to say about it."

As expected, Iskandar soon joined them on the ground. Sakura watched the flying bulls with her eyes wide open, but she was more surprised than scared by such unusual view.

"Relax, he's a friend." Robin winked cheerfully to the girl and she clung to his back even tighter than before.

"So you've made it?" Rider did not hide how happy he is. Seeing youngsters like them following the path of a true hero must be enjoyable for any old Heroic Soul. "There's a commotion in the forest near your castle, Saber. I thought you might be interested."

"That's exactly where we're heading, but we probably won't make it on time."

"Because that idiot forgot about his motorbike," Archer added, rolling his eyes.

"Who needs modern machines when there's a flying chariot at hand?!"

Saber and Archer looked at each other, surprised. The King of Conquerors really offered to give them a lift? And his always-complaining Master agreed, just like that?

Waver did not oppose this time. His eyes were full of compassion and kindness when he looked at Sakura. The girl was visibly lost but seemed calm in this unexpected situation.

"Hey, young lady, you want to go for a ride?" – Waver asked, opening the door to the vehicle.

"That's my boy for you!" Iskandar laughed, visibly proud of the young magus. It was a proof that his teachings reached Waver after all. "Hurry up and get in. We have no time to waste, ha, ha, hah!"

* * *

Although he would never admit it, Kiritsugu was captivated by the fight. Lancer's self-confidence and overwhelming strength were truly fascinating to watch.

 _This is exactly what heroes do_ , he thought, angry at himself. _They make people believe that there's beauty and honor on the battlefield. No, it's death and despair, nothing more. And these two warriors are only pitiful women, which are trying to kill each other because their Masters ordered them to do so._

The subtle charm of this moment, when lance clashed with sword, was only an illusion. Emiya knew it. He won't be fooled anymore by shining heroes. Even the famous King Arthur summoned by him wasn't so pure anymore. Lancer was a realist, knowing that the world is a dark place. You must throw away chivalry to achieve your goal. Heroes of justice just don't exist.

Then Kiritsugu thought about Saber and clenched his fists in silent anger. He couldn't even express how much he hates this troublesome Servant.

 _Master._ Arturia slowed down a little to warn him. _A chariot is approaching. I can sense also Saber and Archer, but I'm not really sure. The last aura is too faint to say for sure._

 _Finish Avenger quickly, Lancer,_ Emiya ordered, expecting troubles. _It's not a problem for you, I guess?_

 _Not at all, Master._

 _Good._

He breathed in cold night air, waiting for a message from Maiya. While he was standing here as a bait to lure Avenger's Master out of her hideout, Maiya acted in the shadows to eliminate the enemy magus. The plan was perfect, but a bunch of rebellious Servants could ruin it at any moment…

"Heroes of justice just don't exist," Kiritsugu said to himself to kill the last remnants of this dangerous illusion within his own heart.

* * *

 _Her eyes were once blue_ , Saber thought. Strange memories, which he didn't suspect to have, hit him hard, and were so painful that he could barely withstand them. _Her long braid used to be brown, but shone like gold when the sunlight touched it._

She was considered the most beautiful princess of the North. But now all Saber could see was the insane, completely broken woman, who had lost everything. All her beauty, even her soul, became corrupted by shadow. Black and red were her only colors now.

 _It's my fault, right?_

Siegfried knew that no apology will be enough. Nothing can undone it, it was far too late. What he should do?

He was sure that he shouldn't stand here like an idiot, captivated by the fight of two women in black. Arturia was clearly stronger and more experienced, but Avenger managed to keep up with her, powered by anger and hatred, almost like a Berserker.

After another fierce exchange of blows Lancer smiled, sure that she has found all weaknesses of her opponent. Rhongomyniad twirled in Arturia's hand, when she charged forward to smash the enemy. It was the right moment to prove her superiority.

"This is the last one, fake knight!"

Avenger waited patiently, suspiciously calm. Siegfried recognized with ease the subtle movement of her wrist, the way her feet changed position to prevent her body from loosing balance. Saber knew exactly what Avenger is going to do – because he was the one who had invented this technique.

Arturia, being a magnificent swordsman as well, realized what's going to happen. But it was too late for her to stop it. No skill, not even a powerful blast of mana, could block this strike, a mounted warrior at full speed was in disadvantage against it.

"Master, look out!" – Lancer shouted, trying to perform an impossible maneuver with her mount. Llamrei neighed painfully, plowing the ground with her hooves and desperately trying to turn around, almost breaking her legs in the process.

"Too late!" Avenger grabbed her weapon in one hand and threw it with all might, like a spear, aiming for Kiritsugu Emiya.

With Lancer defeated here and now many of Saber's problems would be solved. Most of all, he did not like Kiritsugu Emiya. Even if Siegfried respected this man's wish, he had no obligation or intention to help him…

But Kiritsugu Emiya was Illya's father. She would be sad. She would cry and miss him. She would be left alone in this world, a pitiful orphan, with her father dead and mother turned into the part of the cursed Grail.

That was enough motivation for Siegfried to stand between Avenger and her prey. Clenching his teeth, he deflected the corrupted version of Balmung with his own, pure one. The weapons clashed with a terrible force and a very unpleasant sound, but the strange sensation during the impact was even worse. Almost like the shadow from Avenger's sword wanted to force its way through the other blade…

"This is not how a princess should behave, Kriemhild," Siegfried whispered, lowering his sword. It was something Gunther used to say to his little sister. Although the king was serious about it, the girl usually laughed at him and his rules. Now it was just too sad to be a joke anymore. _How is it possible that I suddenly know it? Is Kriemhild's presence enough to rewrite my memories?_ "You bring shame to your family, especially to your husband."

It was not fair to take advantage of her madness, but he had good intentions. And it worked. The entire forest froze, even Kiritsugu didn't dare to move, not knowing what's going on.

"Forgive me, my dear." Avenger bowed slightly, like nothing weird has ever happened or like they were never really separated for ages. "You know that everything I do is for you."

"I know." The pain in Siegfried's voice was more than obvious. There was no doubt that this Servant is completely insane. "So, please, stop fighting. Enough for tonight."

Kriemhild nodded and clearly wanted to say something, but stopped halfway. She grabbed her sword from the ground and ran though the forest in a great hurry. A series of gunshots, that sounded in the distance, was enough to understand such sudden change in her behavior.

Kiritsugu immediately reached for his phone.

"Maiya, retreat now! This Servant is far too dangerous for you to handle."

 _"_ _Understood. I'm already on my way back."_

"Good. Did you get Avenger's Master?" – he asked through the device. Lancer was already by his side, staring suspiciously at so many Servants that gathered here tonight, but clearly having no intention to fight them.

 _"_ _No, that bitch was well-protected. I shot only to distract her Servant."_

"Thank you, Maiya. You were a big help." Emiya disconnected and lightened up a cigarette. He needed a moment to collect his thoughts; his gaze wandered from one unexpected guest to another, and stopped at the little girl, who clung to Archer inside the Rider's chariot. "Now… will someone tell me what's going on here?"

They all looked at Siegfried, who only sighed helplessly.

"Honestly? I have no idea."

* * *

 **Bonus: Character Sheet**

* * *

Class: Avenger

Master: Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri

True Name: Kriemhild

Other names: Black Widow, Fallen Princess of the North

Alignment: Chaotic Insane

* * *

Strength: B+

Agility: B

Luck: D

Endurance: A

Mana: C

Noble Phantasm: EX

(see below: skill Devoted Imitator)

* * *

Once a beautiful, kindhearted princess and a wife of the dragonslaying hero, she changed drastically after her husband's death. Betrayed by her own family, robbed of her status and wealth, she carefully planned her vengeance, that led to bloody slaughter.

* * *

Class Skills:

 **Avenger: D** (hatred shown towards her is not the source of Kriemhild's power – it's her hatred towards others that fuels her; because of that she's easy to provoke and very dangerous in 'berserk mode')

 **Self-Replenishment (Mana): B+**

* * *

Personal Skills:

 **Counter Hero: B** (reduces all of the opponent's parameters by two ranks (works also against traitors and 'men with power'), weaker against anti-heroes, reducing their parameters by one rank)

 **Charisma: B+** (mix of natural charm and lies; during difficult times in her life Kriemhild developed this ability to make alliances with those with power, eventually even to gather an army)

 **Devoted Imitator: A+** (Kriemhild's devotion to her murdered husband is as strong as her madness – during the fight it allows her to copy most of Siegfried's stats, habits and fighting techniques, although she cannot copy his Noble Phantasms or things he himself had not taught/shown her in the past)

 **Magic Resistance: B**

 **Prophetic Dreams: D** (according to legends Kriemhild used to have prophetic dreams (about falcon killed by eagles and others); being a Servant – and insane one – she doesn't dream, but can be struck by a sudden vision of the future; this kind of foresight, however, is not very useful, because Avenger can see things but usually is not able to interpret them correctly)

* * *

 **Noble Phantasm: Balmung, Demonic Greatsword of Vengeance** (basically her own demonic, corrupted version of Balmung, covered in black, evil energy)

 **Noble Phantasm: ?**


	15. 15: Bonus - Summer Tastes Like Pistachio

Warning: this is a bonus chapter with no logic or connection to the main story. Only pure absurd and fluff ( and maybe a little bit of foreshadowing).

Why this happened? Because it's hot today, I can hear seagulls screaming outside, and "Carnival Phantasm" music in my headphones.

And because the cast deserves some fun before I'll kill them all.

You've been warned. Don't blame me for the brain damage.

* * *

 **Special: Summer Tastes Like Pistachio**

 _"Men will sing, women will change clothes," Arturia decided with a wicked smile.  
_

* * *

"I don't remember saying that, Siegfried." Arturia rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed. "Two cheeseburgers won't make me wear a flower swimsuit for you."

Saber and Lancer accompanied Iri and Illya on the beach. It was a perfect day for a stroll and they decided to relax on the sand with Aoi Tohsaka and her daughters. Robin followed uninvited, the same with Rider and his Master. Even Avenger and Sola-Ui declared that it's too hot for fighting today and joined their little party.

"I'm sure you did, Lancer." Siegfried smiled widely, clearly provoking her. "A knight like you must keep a promise, don't you think?"

"In your dreams…"

"Why don't we solve your conflict in a different way?" Rider smiled; he clearly was plotting something evil.

"Like what?"

"A match." No one knew from where he got the volleyball ball. "Two on two, beach volleyball. What say you?"

"I'm in," Arturia decided, always ready for a new challenge.

"Me too." Avenger saw a chance to finish their duel from the forest without unnecessary bloodshed.

"And I will make sure that you do not kill each other or anyone in the audience," Archer declared to avoid being selected to one of the teams.

"Um, I want to see the match!" Illya sounded decisively enough to make them all agree. "But first we buy some ice cream! Which flavor for you, Saber?"

Siegfried hesitated, surprised by this unexpected question.

"I… I've never tried ice cream. I have no idea which one to choose."

"So it's decided!" Illya raised one finger in the air to show that her verdict is final. "I will choose for you."

She clung to the freezer, focused on her task like the future of the planet depended on her choice.

"Hurry up and buy chocolate ice cream." Rin rolled her eyes, already bored. "Everyone likes chocolate ice cream."

"No one asked you, Rin. If you summon your own Servant, you'll buy him whatever you want, but this one is mine."

"Of course I will summon a Servant! It will be a Saber, for sure!"

"I would prefer an Archer," Sakura said quietly and smiled to Robin.

"Do as you please, mine is the strongest anyway." Illya stuck her tongue out. "Right, Siegfried? Here, try this!"

"Thank you, Illya." Saber stared at the green orb inside a wafer. "What a strange color…"

"It's pistachio ice cream."

"A kind of nut," Irisviel explained, trying to not laugh at loud at Saber's confusion.

But she couldn't resist anymore when he finally tried the ice cream, because Siegfried's face expressed an absolute happiness and delight.

* * *

"It's hard to even look at you, Kirei." Gilgamesh winced and put his sunglasses on, like it could protect him from such unpleasant view. "How can you eat such spicy mapo tofu in this temperature?"

"You told me to dive into simple pleasures, so…" Kotomine did not stop eating even for a moment, despite a blush on his face and sweat on his forehead.

"So you're a masochist?"

"Maybe. Or maybe it's just so tasty that I simply can't resist it?"

"Would you like to order a dessert, Mister?"

Gilgamesh barely glanced at the waitress, too relaxed to be angry for her rude interruption.

"Just bring me that famous tequila thing."

"I'm sorry, we don't serve alcohol here…" The woman stopped immediately, staring at the gold brick placed nonchalantly on the table. "As you wish, I'll be back in a minute, Mister!"

"Greedy mongrels."

* * *

"What about challenges for losers?" – Waver asked, sitting on the sand near their improvised court.

"Men will sing, women will change clothes," Arturia decided with a wicked smile.

"Shouldn't you play men on women then?"

"No!" For the first time Lancer and Avenger agreed to something.

"O-ok. How do we split…?" Siegfried did not manage to end the sentence – Kriemhild already clung to his arm. He sighed. "Right. So… prepare to wear that flower swimsuit, Arturia, because I'm going to win!"

"Oh?" Lancer's golden eyes narrowed dangerously, her vicious smile wasn't much better. "I hope you know many pop songs, Saber, because I'm going to enjoy your little recital tonight."

"No, rather Rider will sing an opera aria for me." Avenger smiled at the possibility.

"And my choice of clothing for the princess will be" – Iskandar made a dramatic pause – "Gothic Loli Maid!" He looked at Avenger as if she was already in such costume.

"Huh?" Kriemhild did not know what he means, so she wasn't sure if she should be afraid or not. "How does it look like?"

"I'll show you." The King of Conquerors was always ready to help. "Boy, please throw that bag to me."

"So this is how you spend my money!?" Waver groaned, defeated. "You pervert!"

They all gathered around Rider and stared at the magazine cover in his hands.

"Looks nice." Arturia seemed strangely excited.

"Hmm." Siegfried had nothing more to say, but Avenger, who was carefully examining his face, frowned suspiciously.

"I didn't know you're into lolis, my love…"

"I'm not!"

His protest was ignored.

"You're acting strange, dear. First flirting openly with that big-breasted b…"

"Kriemhild!"

"…British king, now your hidden desire for dark loli maids."

"I don't like maid costumes! Or lolis. Cut it off."

But it seemed that everything he says can be used against him.

"You're mean, Siegfried! Why have you even married me if you're into such stuff?"

"I… don't remember." He sighed heavily. "Can we just… start playing?"

"Sure." Robin, their self-proclaimed arbiter, threw the ball high into the air. "Let the battle begin!"

* * *

Meanwhile in the cafeteria on the beach, three women were sitting at the small table, waiting for their ordered cold drinks.

"So…" Irisviel smiled gently, trying to be nice. "Do you have children, Miss Sola-Ui?"

"No."

Iri fell silent, feeling like she's been hit in the face. Aoi Tohsaka realized it's her turn to keep this conversation going.

"Do you want to have childr..?"

"No."

And Iri again:

"Do you like…?"

"No."

A moment of awkward silence.

"I'm going to get more chocolate ice cream." Aoi pulled out the wallet from her handbag. "Who's with me?"

"Good idea." Sola-Ui smiled at last. "With whipped cream and sauce."

"And nuts." Iri's eyes shone with pure joy. "I like them with a mountain of nuts!"

The tension in the air disappeared momentarily. It seems that nothing connects people more effectively than chocolate ice cream.

* * *

"AAAALaLaLaLaLaie!" Iskandar attacked so fiercely, that Siegfried had no chance to get to the ball on time. "It's no use, Saber! You're too big and slow to play in the defensive."

"I know, right?! You can't just keep bullying me together like that! It's not fair!"

"Exactly." Surprisingly Robin joined the discussion. "I want to see Lancer in that outfit, too! Four points to 'Princess and Her Dragon' team!"

"If you don't stop cheating, Archer, you'll see only a tip of my spear in your ass!" - Arturia was strangely serious about it.

"I have enough of this." Siegfried decided to take advantage of this moment of chaos. "Disengage."

Somehow the score suddenly changed to a draw and they could do nothing to undone it.

"Hey, this is not how you use this skill!" For the first time since the beginning of their match Arturia looked disturbed by the vision of parading around in a flower swimsuit.

"I use my skills the way I want." Siegfried shrugged. "Now, Kriemhild, is our chance to win this battle. Here I come!"

It was a powerful jump serve, no one should be able to defend himself against such blow…

No one except the King of Knights.

"Do not underestimate me! Hyaaaa!"

"Go, Lancer!" Iskandar perfectly prepared the ball for Arturia to attack.

"On your left, Kriemhild!" - Siegfried shouted, but Avenger had no slightest intention to dive for the ball. To Saber's confusion, she only stared blankly how the opposite team gets another point. "What was that?"

"I made my decision," the Black Widow answered simply, focused more on her own nails than on the ball. "It's better for you to see me in a maid costume than stare at her almost naked body."

"Sounds good to me." Iskandar laughed, feeling that his team has already won the match.

"Because you won't have to sing, Rider!" Siegfried winced, thinking how to save himself from this hopeless situation.

"Ready to give up?" Arturia smiled. "This is the match ball, you won't get away."

"Bring it on!"

Behind their backs Sakura whispered something to Rin and Illya. The girls chuckled, delighted by some crazy idea and ready to put it into action.

"By the power of my Command Seal…"

"Illya?" Saber turned around, not knowing what's going on.

At this moment the ball served by Rider hit the back of Siegfried's head with enormous power. He fell on the sand, literally knocked out.

"Why this always happens to me?"

"That's the E-rank luck for you, friend!" Iskandar smiled widely and did a high five with Arturia. "You've been conquered!"

"Don't move, my love, I will avenge you!" It wasn't nice to hear something like that from a mad Avenger class Servant with a two-handed sword.

"Better help me get up, Kriemhild." Siegfried stood up, sighing heavily, then looked accusingly at his little Master. "You did that on purpose, Illya?"

Even an actual devil couldn't give him more 'innocently evil' smile.

"A champion takes on all challengers, Saber. Better prepare for the show!"

* * *

***Evening in the Einzbern castle***

 _"You've been hit by_

 _You've been struck by_

 _A smooth criminal!"_

The audience went wild. Even Kriemhild, who served drinks in a gothic loli maid outfit, forgot about her own embarrassment and joined the applause.

"It was a great idea, Sakura!" Rin winked cheerfully to her sister. "We must do more cosplay in the future!"

"You look wonderful in this white suit!" Iri poked Saber's arm. She couldn't stop laughing, truly impressed. "And that anti-gravity lean! When did you learn it?"

"Well…" Siegfried decided to keep this secret for himself, he only winked meaningfully to Sakura, who smiled to him from the couch.

"Awesome, Saber!" Illya gave him an affectionate hug. "Here's the reward for my champion! All for you!"

She gave him a pack… of pistachio ice cream. Saber's face brightened in an instant.

"It's just…" He never suspected that all his effort would be so much appreciated. He could even sing and dance for entire day to be praised so much by his Master. "Oh, I forgot to ask. Why pistachio, Illya?"

"Because your crest have almost the same color. I was sure that you'll like it."

"Indeed. It's… perfect. Thank you."

Saber smiled. It was a truly unforgettable experience for him - that can be carved into one's very soul.

From this day on, summer will always taste like pistachio for him.


	16. 16: We Always Have a Choice

Hello! I'm sorry I kept You waiting, but this chapter was surprisingly hard to write. I hope it won't happen again and the rest of the story will go smoothly.

First I want to thank **hyperomegasonic26** , who helped me so much with this story that he can be officially called its co-author. Thank You, friend! I wouldn't get this far without You!

Regarding the sequel: the poll is closed, thank You for voting! New Servants for the next war have been already chosen: two will be summoned not in their usual classes and two more were excluded from the poll for plot reasons. I hope it will be a nice surprise for You.

That's all for now, I hope You'll enjoy the chapter. Don't hesitate to comment or contact me!

* * *

 **16: We Always Have a Choice**

 _"_ _Attacking Masters, not Servants, again? What are you – a mere assassin?"_

* * *

"This is the first time Iri lied to me."

Maiya looked questioningly at Kiritsugu, but didn't say a thing. She was checking her weapons, almost ready to depart.

"About Archer being dead," Emiya explained. He was sitting in the corner of the room, with his laptop open, and a cigarette in his mouth. "She confirmed it without a blink. But Lancer is sure that she still can feel his faint presence somewhere out there."

"Maybe Madam became a Master?"

"No, definitely not."

"I wonder who is it then."

Kiritsugu, clearly having his own theory about it, smiled without true happiness and breathed out a cloud of smoke. His expression quickly changed to a gloomy reverie.

"Are you angry? Or just disappointed?" – Maiya asked after a moment of silence and came closer to look at the laptop's screen. "I can't believe they're still here…"

Two strangers were walking through the forest – a woman accompanied by a girl with a strange compass in hands. They arrived few hours ago, clearly searching for something – or someone – but the Einzbern's forest is not a nice place for mere mortals. They were constantly losing path, wandering in circles, but still pushed forward with unexpected determination. The inhabitants of the castle decided to wait till they're get tired and go back home, but it didn't seem like a good idea anymore.

"They're surprisingly stubborn. I may be forced to kick them out soon," Kiritsugu murmured with a strange wince. The longer he watched the woman and the girl, the more he was sure that he's already seen their faces somewhere before. "And no, I'm not angry at Iri, just… surprised. First she became rebellious, now she shows clearly that she has her own goals. How can I be angry when her life is about to end soon?"

Indeed, Irisviel's condition worsened drastically last night, even little Illya knew that these are the last days, maybe hours, of their family life. It was obvious that the war is getting closer to its conclusion and even one more defeated Servant will mean an end for the vessel-homunculus.

Maiya did not comment, only nodded to show that she understands. She checked her weapons again and came closer to the door.

"Are you sure it's ok to take Lancer with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You'll stay in the castle with Saber. You said we're not allies anymore."

"But he is not our enemy either." Kiritsugu sighed and reached for another cigarette. It was obvious that he hates this Servant. Although the Dragon Slayer did not show it openly, the feeling was mutual. "He's devoted to Illya and that's enough to assume that he won't betray us."

"I see." Maiya couldn't hide her smile. Emiya claimed to hate knights for their hypocrisy, but came to trust Illya's Servant in the end. She suspected that the two can't stand each other only because they're so similar. Or rather were, because Saber represented everything Kiritsugu wanted to be when he was younger. "I'll be going then."

"Be careful and inform me about everything."

"I will."

Maiya left the castle with a look of determination in her eyes. This mission was more personal than the others. Someone killed one of her bat familiars and sent it to the city with some unknown message. It was clearly an invitation, probably to lure someone into a trap. But who, if not Kiritsugu, will be the prey?

Having Lancer by her side, Maiya will surely find it out. And killing the impostor, who dares to mess with her magic, will be a nice bonus.

* * *

It was the most affectionate hug Irisviel has ever seen.

She was resting on the castle floor, inside a provisional sigil, to recover after absorbing two Servants during one night. Saber guarded her when Illya was talking with Archer. Now the girl entered the room like a little tornado and clung to her Servant with no intention of letting him go ever again.

Irisviel pretended to be asleep but observed them secretly, barely able to hide a warm smile.

"See, I came back as promised," Saber said quietly, more than happy to see his Master at last.

"Good. But I wasn't so sure at first. You have some stupid ideas after all."

"Like what?" Saber blinked, not knowing what she means, and her serious expression alarmed him ever more.

"Why you decided to die? It was not your fault. It was fault of that stupid king and that woman."

Siegfried froze. She asked about his past, his legend? So their connection was deep enough to let the details slip into Illya's dreams…

"I'm sor..." He wanted to apologize for her nightmares, but the girl punched him with her little fist, visibly frustrated.

"Don't apologize! You did nothing wrong!"

"I did. It's more complicated than you think." He sighed. "You see, Illya, we always have a choice. Whatever the king might order, I could say 'no'. But it was my decision to agree on his plan. My choice. So no one but me is to blame what happened later. No matter the situation, it's you who makes your own decision, no one else. Even if someone tries to force you or threat you – the last word still belongs to you and you alone."

Illya sat on his lap in silence, waving her legs nervously, devouring his words longer than usual. She must have come to a satisfactory conclusion, because she nodded to herself, accepting this difficult truth.

"But that woman is a liar," she murmured suddenly. "It's not love. If she'd truly love you, she would have listened to you. But she picked up a fight with the other queen, because her own pride was more important for her than you."

Siegfried never considered it this way and had no answer for Illya, but was moved by her concern. He would die for his little Master without hesitation, but the sudden realization, that Illya also cares for him so much, struck him speechless. Saber was a bit scared, yet happy like never before.

 _What a selfish feeling… What have you done to me, Master?_

"Where's Sakura?" – he asked after a moment of suspicious silence.

"With Sella and Leysritt. She's sleeping." Illya sighed. "She's boring and doesn't want to play."

"Don't be too harsh for this girl, Illya, she's been through a lot."

"I know." She poked his cheek accusingly, visibly jealous. "But remember that you are mine, I won't let you eat cheesecake and play video games with other girls, Saber."

"Got it, Master."

 _Such warmness... Does 'having a daughter' feel like this?_

Irisviel kept observing them _through half_ _-_ _closed eyes_ , thinking that they look like a family. She thought that Siegfried, who died young, like it often happens to heroes, had no chance to even think about being a father. It was a strange thought, but Iri just couldn't help it while watching the two.

She had seen the fire in Saber's eyes when he attacked that priest in the forest – it was a gaze full of dragon flames - a gaze of a madman or a monster. Yet still… Sometimes Irisviel suspected that this Servant was more humane than her own husband.

Stupid or not, those thoughts calmed her down. Iri closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep at last, sure that no matter what happens, Illya should be safe after the war.

* * *

For the first time in this Holy Grail War, Robin could accept without complaints the task that was given to him by his Master.

'Don't let yourself be killed, Archer, survive as long as you can' – this was an order he could gladly follow in any circumstances.

They both knew that this is only a temporary solution. The situation was complicated and nothing could change the final outcome – Irisviel, the vessel, is going to die anyway, sooner or later. And Robin, encouraged by his new Master, was determined to delay it as much as possible.

"What a mess. Some things would never change," he sighed, thinking about everything that happened so far. He would never suspect that his former Master's fiancée survived and teamed up with an Avenger class Servant. He actually felt sorry for Saber, forced to witness the madness of the woman who used to be his wife. He was frustrated about the fact that families will be separated, innocent kids will suffer and he, a damn Heroic Spirit, can do nothing about it. "Hey, that was close!"

Sensing a powerful aura nearby, Archer withdrew. He intended to be an obedient Servant this time, even if only for a while, so getting in Avenger's way is the last thing he should do, right? Soon another Heroic Spirit appeared nearby, forcing Robin to abandon his temporary hideout.

"Well, if Lancer and Avenger want to fight, I won't be interrupting." But Archer was ordered to survive, not to sit idly on his ass so long to let it swell up. His nature of a forest traveler, which he certainly shared with Saber, pushed him into action. "It's time to find out where the Grail will appear. But first…"

Robin smiled to himself – it was a task worthy of a prince of thieves, like people used to call him in some stories. Tonight he had a certain gloomy residence to plunder.

* * *

The sky was burning.

Two beasts roared terribly. The black one, which looked like a hybrid of a lion and a dragon, jumped forward, ready to tear the other one – the mix of a golden lion and phoenix – to shreds. During their fierce clash a dark rain started falling from the tormented sky, and every single drop was like a ton of condensed suffering. It mercilessly burnt her skin, melted her body…

 _It hurts, it hurts so much!_

"Kriemhild?" Someone touched her hand, waking her up from this nightmare. "Hey, Kriemhild, be quiet. People are staring at us."

Avenger blinked and looked around, finally awake. Other customers of the small café indeed stared at her, alarmed by her suspicious behavior. Blushing a bit, Kriemhild smiled apologetically, using all her charm of a former princess.

It worked. Sola-Ui chuckled, amazed how easy the two of them can deceive others. To inhabitants of Fuyuki they were only a pair of elegant tourists. Kriemhild adapted to her new environment pretty well, she looked like a sad aristocrat in her dark violet dress. Sola-Ui preferred crimson clothes, which made her look like a cruel femme fatale.

"Another vision?" – she asked, sipping coffee.

"Yes. It was awful, too bad I'm not as good as my mother in interpreting those 'dreams'. I'm sure of only one thing about them - every time I see strange beasts, someone very important to me gets hurt."

"Important, you say? Like your husband, who happened to be the enemy Saber?"

Avenger glared at her Master, trying to read her intentions. She did not like the sound of Sola-Ui's voice, there was something dangerous and very… inappropriate in it.

"Do you want to tell me something, Master? I may be devoted to you but, sadly, I can't read your thoughts through our bond."

"Not really. I just hope that you won't forget who's your Master and who's your enemy. I won't accept betrayal for such stupid reason like feelings."

Kriemhild swallowed. As paranoiac as she usually is, she could understand the lack of trust. But calling love - the sole meaning of her existence, as a woman, princess and wife – a 'stupid feeling' was too much for her.

 _Don't you know love, my dear Master? Poor thing! What kind of pitiful life you've had so far?_

"I won't ever betray you, Master," she said, trying hard to hide her doubts. _But I don't want to fight him. We have many powerful Servants in this war, it shouldn't be necessary to kill them all. The Grail should work just fine even if some of us survive._

"But?" Sola-Ui smiled, amused by Kriemhild's focused expression. She thought that Avenger can act surprisingly logical and cunningly for a mad Servant.

"There's no 'but'." The Black Widow shook her head, deadly serious. "My only wish is to win this war for you. Speaking of which…" She narrowed her eyes, sensing something nearby. "Someone's about to start a party, Master. Should we join them?"

"Of course." Sola-Ui called the waiter and requested the bill. "I have a feeling that it will be a wonderful night."

* * *

Although Tokiomi tried to hide it with all his might, he's been already too nervous to just stand and wait patiently for Emiya's messenger.

He was almost sure that the other party is already here, observing from the shadows. It was the same place at the docks where the first crazy battle of this war took place. Some containers still showed signs of that fight and one of the street lamps was flashing annoyingly, increasing the aura of danger in the air. With some many possible hideouts around nothing could prevent Kiritsugu from pulling the trigger and sending Tokiomi into oblivion.

 _What's with this feeling? Am I afraid?_ Tohsaka sighed heavily, disgusted by his own inappropriate behavior. _What are you waiting for, Master of Lancer? I didn't let anybody follow me here, just like you wanted._

One, two, three, four steps… A sudden flash from above made the mage alert. Tokiomi's energetic shield raised on its own, but thin, rapier-like blades cut it with terrifying ease.

Along with Toshaka's right hand.

The red mage fell on the ground, still too surprised to actually feel any pain. His circuits froze in shock, the remnants of his connection to Gilgamesh has been brutally severed. For the first time in his entire life Tokiomi Tohsaka felt defenseless, like a fish out of water. Even more when he finally recognized the one who had attacked him.

"Ki…rei…"

"What a face you made jut now, Tokiomi. Luring you here was worth it for this view alone. Still… it looks somehow familiar. I guess that a typical expression of 'a fatherly figure betrayed by his student' is a real thing."

Tohsaka did not know how to react, only shook his head, barely understanding what's actually happened. The delight in Kotomine's voice frightened him even more than injuries or promise of a painful death. He should cast a spell, defend himself, say something… But could only watch in terror how his former ally raises his mage-killing blades, prepared to land the final blow.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Betraying your mentor, priest? You have no shame left?" Sola-Ui crossed her arms, whistling with pretended admiration.

Avenger chuckled quietly behind her back. They came here attracted by Lancer's aura, but found something much more interesting.

Kirei, upset by their sudden intervention, reluctantly abandoned his wounded prey. Clenching his teeth, he was forced to withdraw, when Kriemhild nonchalantly swung her sword, almost beheading the false priest.

"So you're the mage who killed Kayneth?" Sola-Ui kneeled next to the wounded Tokiomi; her smile seemed inadequate to this situation. She was skilled in healing magic, including spiritual healing to some extent, so she proceeded with the first aid. "Don't look at me like that, I'm actually grateful. You freed me, in many ways. You saved me back then, so I can return the favor. Just this once."

There was a hidden warning in her last words: even if Sola-Ui does not recognize Tohsaka as a Master anymore, she won't go easy on him next time if the mage insists on participating in the war. Tokiomi, although weakened by the loss of blood, understood that simple message.

But someone interpreted their conversation the wrong way – or maybe just needed an excuse to start a fight?

"Attacking Masters, not Servants, again? What are you – a mere assassin?"

"Look out, Master!" Only Avenger's instincts saved Sola-Ui from being trampled by charging Llamrei. "So it was you! This time I make sure you'll die here, bitch!"

"You took the words right out of my mouth!" Arturia smiled faintly, swirling her lance. The bloodlust in the air around those two women in black was so intense, that even some local wraiths would run away in panic.

Again, the lance clashed with the two-handed sword. Arturia's strikes were so powerful, that Kriemhild needed to focus on defense, worried that her sword would break eventually. Prioritizing the safety of her Master, Avenger kept slowly proceeding back, step by step luring the raging Lancer closer to the sea.

This time Arturia came well-prepared and clearly intended to annihilate her opponent. She saw right through her enemy's tactic and destroyed the nearest containers with a powerful blow. They fell on the ground like an avalanche, effectively cutting off Avenger's escape route.

"You asked for it." Surprisingly, Kriemhild smiled. The air became dense from the energy accumulated around the fallen princess and her dark blade. Feeling that her Master already managed to hide in a safe place, she decided to enjoy the fight to the fullest. "Finally I can go all out!"

"Wonderful! Show me all you've got, fake knight!"

* * *

"Tohsaka is alive and secured," Maiya reported through her phone. Because of a terrible noise in the background, Kiritsugu could barely understand the words. Has something exploded just now? "Are you sure it's a good idea to let him live?"

"Yes, we can get rid of him later if necessary. He's still useful." There was no time to explain the new circumstances to Maiya. In her absence two more unexpected guest arrived to the Einzbern castle. Emiya could now trade their safety for any information about Fuyuki and the Grail Tokiomi possesses. "What 's going on there?"

"They literally destroyed the entire area," Maiya explained simply. A bit of fear in her voice told Kiritsugu that even this brave woman was not ready to see a fight of serious – and bloodthirsty - Servants. "It's hard to believe that they haven't used their Noble Phantasms yet. Should we allow Lancer to do so?"

"Yes." The Mage Killer rubbed his forehead, thinking. The war will soon reach its conclusion, it's about time to use some force at last. "Avenger must be eliminated, this Servant is too unpredictable to be left alone."

"Understood. Seems that Lancer agrees with you, she's going to…"

"Maiya?" Kiritsugu winced and almost threw away the phone. Only a sudden accumulation of magical energy could disturb the signal this much. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." It took a while for her to respond, so she was speaking fast to make up for the lost seconds. "Lancer and Avenger were about to release their Noble Phantasm, but that classless Servant suddenly appeared. Does it mean that he has a new Master?"

"Or Independent Action skill." Kiritsugu tensed. It supposed to be an easy victory, Lancer had an overwhelming advantage over Avenger, but now it wasn't so obvious anymore. "What they're doing?"

"Talking. I can come closer so you will be able to hear them."

"Ok, but be careful."

Something hummed in the receiver. Soon Emiya could hear, although barely, the conversation of three angry Servants.

 _"…_ _this is not what I planned for you. The stage has been set elsewhere. If you want the Grail, you must come and get it."_

 _"_ _You make it sound like the Grail already belongs to you, King of Heroes."_ Arturia's voice was as cold as ice, in contrast to Gilgamesh's annoyingly cheerful tone.

 _"_ _Of course it's mine, it has always been! Come to the Fuyuki Civic Center when you'll be ready for the epic conclusion of this war, Lancer."_

 _"_ _You won't be able to complete the ritual without the Lesser Grail, you must know that already."_ Avenger, who seemed to know surprisingly much about the system, clearly wanted to end this fruitless discussion.

 _"_ _And you, filthy mongrel, must already know that I won't let you fill the vessel without challenging me._ _"_

Kiritsugu frowned, suspicious. What that supposed to mean? Could it be that this troublesome Heroic Spirit knows something more about the Grail? Maybe he's just arrogant and tries to treat other Servants like mere pawns? Or he's just bluffing, to provoke Arturia and fulfill his desire to fight her…

Actually, his offer seemed quite convenient for Kiritsugu. In terms of raw power Lancer has no equal among Servants of this war. The idea of winning with just one strike, preceded by proper preparation, tempted the always pragmatic Mage Killer.

But first he needed to get out Arturia of this chaos. If the classless Servant changes his mind and decides to attack, maybe even to join forces with Avenger, Lancer's victory won't be certain anymore. She may end up damaged or weakened too much to continue the fight later - Emiya could not risk that when he was so close to achieving his goal.

"Maiya, tell Lancer to withdraw and bring Tohsaka here. We need to prepare for the final battle."


	17. 17: Fathers

**17: Fathers**

 _"_ _Read this, Tokiomi. Keep reading until every word is carved into your mind. And then tell me if you're satisfied. Tell me, if it was worth it."_

* * *

Tokiomi opened his eyes, amazed that he's still alive.

He briefly remembered the moment of Kirei's attack, he must have fainted soon after that. Actual words and faces mixed with imagined ones – for a moment the mage in red was sure that he can hear Sakura whispering something to his ear. Then, in few short moments of regained consciousness, the Einzbern's Master was trying to investigate him about the Grail, local ley lines and much more strangely unimportant topics, at least in such moment.

"Think of your inheritance," Kiritsugu had said back then. "What's left for you to do in this war? What is still worth dying for, now, after you've already lost?"

 _What, indeed?_

If Tokiomi himself had already failed, his responsibility as a magus lied elsewhere. He needed to make sure that his bloodline survives to participate in the next war.

"That's right," said Kiritsugu's voice inside Tohasaka's head. "You wouldn't risk their precious lives by keeping unimportant details to yourself, am I right?"

 _Wait a minute! Isn't he speaking about Aoi and Rin? Are they his hostages?_

Not sure if all of this happened a second or month ago, Tohsaka tried to get up, but his nerves refused to obey. A warm hand landed on his chest, ordering him to lie down and rest instead of trying to be heroic.

Even after opening his eyes at last, Tokiomi couldn't tell what's real and what exists only in the world of his feverish nightmares. He was in a castle? And somehow has been reunited with his family? How? He needed to touch Aoi's hand to make sure she's really sitting next to his bed. Still, he sensed something different in her typical caring behavior.

She was glad that her husband survived, for sure, but something in her usually calm eyes alarmed Tokiomi. Aoi was… angry at him? No, 'furious' would be a better word to describe it.

"Did you know?" Her voice was colder than ever, like she was trying to hide a murderous intent. When Tokiomi narrowed his eyes, not understanding what she's talking about, Aoi explained: "About Zouken Matou and his 'ways of training'?"

For a moment, there was only a heavy silence between them, and two accusing gazes were fighting each other, trying to dominate the opponent. Then Aoi showed Tokiomi an old, damaged diary. Its dark aura left no place for doubts – this item belonged to a powerful mage.

"What's this?"

"Matou Zouken's notes. That old monster described every detail, every… crime he committed on my little Sakura. I'm glad he's already dead."

Tokiomi had no idea how to react, he could only stare blankly at the tattered cover. It was too much strange news to process at once.

"How did you get this?" – he asked, mostly to break the intimidating silence, in which his every breath seemed annoyingly loud.

"The red-haired foreigner gave it to me." Aoi shrugged. "Sakura said he and 'the dragon' saved her. But you didn't answer my question." Her eyes pierced Tokiomi like two silver daggers and the man shivered involuntarily under this gaze. He knew that his wife is strong, enough to marry a magus, but such kind of power and cold resolve was beyond his expectations. "Did you know what they were going to do with Sakura when you gave her to them?"

"I knew the training to become a fine mage is not easy. I knew it would be hard, painful even, but I was also sure that Sakura is able to withstand it."

Aoi observed him in silence, with her hands shaking slightly and terrifying, emotionless face. Tokiomi didn't know what to think about it. He felt helpless, with his circuits in shock after losing a hand, unable to defend himself even against his own wife, if she decides to kill him with a pillow or something...

"I see," she said eventually and slowly stood up. "Then read this, Tokiomi. Keep reading until every word is carved into your mind. And then tell me if you're satisfied. Tell me if it was worth it."

She threw the diary in Tokiomi's face and left the room in a hurry, trying to hide her tears.

* * *

Somewhere in the corridor of the Einzbern Castle in Fuyuki outskirts Saber stepped back, utterly frightened.

The red coat, cute pigtails, blue eyes… and the look of an absolute admiration on her face. Rin Tohsaka, although almost as small as Illyasviel, seemed much more scarier than any dragon or wild creature Siegfried has ever encountered.

"You are Saber?" - the little girl asked… no, rather stated, proud of her own smartness. The dumbfounded knight could only nod in tense silence. "Hmph! You don't look spectacular to me."

"Well… sorry for that, Miss." The Dragon Slayer bowed slightly, like a knight. Usually it was enough to embarrass ladies, so they preferred to leave him alone.

But this little lady was unmoved by his petty schemes – she came closer, watching Saber carefully, like a car or any other item before a purchase. She even reached out her hand to poke him with her small finger.

"What are you doing to MY Saber?!" Illya stormed out of the room like a little but extremely angry ogre. First she was happy to meet Rin, one of the few potential friends she could actually make in her complicated circumstances. But short after she was ready to tear this insolent red Tohsaka devil to pieces, mostly for challenging her in magic tricks. "Summon your own Servant and leave mine alone!"

"Hah! Be sure I will!" Rin crossed her arms in a disrespectful pose. "And mine will be much stronger than this… this… reptile!"

Even Illyasviel's ears became red from barely suppressed anger, her magic circuits also activated. One more word and she will annihilate this annoying girl!

"Stop it right now or my dragon will eat you!"

Even Aoi, who was coming through the corridor with Sakura, felt that the situation might soon become too dangerous to handle. She was about to stop the girls, when – surprisingly! – her younger daughter intervened.

"It's not true. Dragons do not eat little girls," she said with a tiny but warm smile. "Dragons save them."

Aoi and Rin froze for a moment – the purple-haired girl did not talk much since she came back, and now she was smiling! It was enough for her mother and sister to hug Sakura and burst into tears.

Siegfried only sighed painfully, surprised by such sudden change of atmosphere. From a fierce battle to group crying, huh? He could successfully stand against dragons but little girls were just too much for him.

"Lady Tohsaka! Children!" Irisviel did not have enough strength to leave her room, probably only pure willpower let her remain in human form at the final night of the Grail War. "The movie will start soon!"

Illya, who tried to keep her 'adult pose' and hide embarrassment, was grateful for this intervention. Siegfried followed his Master obediently into the room and watched her taking place almost on Iri's lap.

"Why Kiritsugu didn't want to come with us?" – Illya asked, not actually heartbroken, but disappointed. "He doesn't want to talk with me anymore?"

"No," Irisviel replied, patting her daughter's head. "It's just the opposite, actually."

"Why? I don't understand."

"This is what men do sometimes when they care too much. Fathers in particular. You will understand when you grow up a little."

Illya did not question this explanation: to a girl her age mother's words were sacred. But behind her back Saber frowned in silence, thinking that no child should ever face such problems.

 _Even if Emiya Kiritsugu is fighting for a kinder, better world for Illya, he… No, I'm just a spirit from the past, it's not my place to question it. However…_

There was a Lancer, who – just before he vanished from the world of mortals once more – said that every human is precious for Servants. Because Heroic Spirits, the mad warriors from the past, had once fought for the future, so the new generations can live on and dream on...

Would he say that again if he was summoned to this timeline? Saber had his doubts, but he also tried to explain to himself that his worries mean only one thing – that, despite being bathed in dragon's blood, Siegfried remained as human as he could.

* * *

"Climbing these preposterously long stairs in the middle of the night seems just stupid."

"Then bring out your chariot." Waver sighed. He had enough of Rider's constant complaining. It was sad but true that they accomplished very little in this war so far, but the achievements of other teams weren't spectacular either. The King of Conquerors has never been so moody before and his Master suspected that something important is coming to an end. "Or at least your horse."

"Nah, that would be even worse. What's the point of making such stairs anyway?"

"Am I a walking encyclopedia for you?" Waver sighed again. "I read somewhere that getting upstairs is like a trial. It shows if you're worthy to receive the lecture from the gods. And placing the temple at the top of the mountain makes it closer to the heavens. Or something like that…"

"So you DID know." Rider chuckled, if making such sound is even possible with his deep baritone. "See, boy, we're both hungry. For knowledge and conquest, that's it! Just imagine all the libraries we can take over together! So many knowledge gathered through ages, waiting for us to claim it, ha, ha, hah!"

It supposed to be one of Rider's typical motivational speeches, but his Master knew the big man too well to be fooled so easily. Somehow Iskandar sounded… sad, distant even. Like he did not believe his own words.

Like he couldn't believe anymore that they're going to win.

At least Rider decided to join his Master and climbed the last part of the stairs with him. Not a big deal, especially for a Servant, but good intentions count, right?

"What now?" – Waver asked when they finally passed the gate.

"We're waiting," Iskandar replied, carefully looking around in search of potential assaulters.

So they waited. Getting more and more frustrated with every passing second, Waver moved the gravel with his feet. Like Archer had said, something was wrong with the mountain, but it would take days, maybe weeks, to examine it properly with such limited resources.

The main reason why they came here – to the place with the highest possibility to materialize the Grail – was to finally join the final fight. Pointlessly. It was a gamble and they lost it.

Their mistake became even more humiliating when the flares suddenly lightened up the sky on the other side of the river. Signals said that the war's already ended. Someone tried to provoke them, make fun of them… or just communicated the obvious.

All of this was painted on Iskandar's face. But soon the giant warrior gave Waver his typical wide smile.

"So... It wasn't the longest journey I could imagine, but it seems that the great showdown will take place tonight. Now, when our battlefield is known, I must ride forth in a way that will bring splendor to Rider class!"

His chariot appeared in a burst of lightning, but Waver did not move, suddenly hesitating.

"Are you sure about it, Rider?" – he asked, not able to look his giant Servant in the eye. He stared at three – useless, weren't they? – Command Spells on his hand.

"About what?"

"Taking someone like me to battle?"

Iskandar blinked, not sure if he understands his young Master.

"What are you talking about? Have you not fought by my side already? In the canals or with that crazy swordmaiden? Boy, you even participated in the meeting of ancient kings! And you still think you're not worthy?"

"But I…" Waver's face turned red, partially of shame, and partially of pride. He couldn't deny that he, indeed, took part in all those events. But still… What Rider is really thinking? Maybe he only pities his Master and tries to cheer him up? "Why would you even need me? These are what you really want, right?" He raised his hand with Command Spells, now shining with blinding red light. "Then I will give them to you. By the power of…"

He did not manage to finish the sentence, when Rider's big fingers wrapped suddenly around his wrist.

"Don't." Iskandar said calmly, this time completely serious. "I have a feeling that you'll be needing these."

"I won't, I'm not going to fight."

"Won't you even accompany me, as a friend? I know I was a failure of a Servant, but I thought all those hardships and fun we had together mean something."

Now Waver did not understand what's happening. He stared at Rider, totally lost, and not sure why the tears are rolling down his cheeks.

"It means a lot to me! I just… didn't suspect that someone like you, a famous hero, will ever consider me a friend. And I am a failure, not you."

When Rider's hand moved again, dangerously close to Waver's head, the boy instinctively tried to dodge another friendly strike. After all, it wouldn't be the first time the King of Conquerors disciplined him like that.

But this time Iskandar only gently patted his Master's hair.

"Do you really think that I, of all Heroic Spirits, would serve an unworthy Master?" He sighed, but then smiled again, in his typical, honest way, without any hidden meaning. "Besides, I promised you a nice duel with that Dragon Knight, didn't I? Let me keep at least this one promise when I'm still here."

Waver washed away his tears and shook his head. Well, it wasn't exactly like that, but if Rider sets his mind on something, resistance is futile.

"But Saber said he won't be fighting anymore."

"Ha, ha, ha! Of course he will! A hero of his caliber does not throw words to the wind!"

Seeing that Rider's typical enthusiasm is back, even if only for a short moment, Waver breathed out a sigh of relief. After being praised like that by a man, whose ego is probably greater than the Grail itself, he couldn't behave like a capricious child! Well, even if he could, he did not want to be like that anymore.

"Why are you still standing here, smiling like an idiot?" – he asked, gesturing towards the other side of the river. Actually, he almost shouted, with power, like he thought a good Master should. "Let's go, Rider. To battle!"

* * *

 _"_ _I am Arthur, King of the Britons!"_

Arturia stopped on the corridor, surprised by the strange dialogue and the group laughter that followed it. Such sounds seemed… surprising in the eve of the Grail War's grand finale.

She peeked into the room, just to see Lady Tohsaka with her two daughters, Irisviel with Illya, and Saber, sitting together on the big sofa. Were they… watching a movie?

Siegfried just glanced at her and moved left to let the fellow Servant sit comfortably next to him. He encouraged Arturia with a pack of popcorn – a treat she couldn't easily ignore. Kiristugu wanted be alone anyway and she had nothing better to do, so…

"Aren't you a bit too relaxed a moment before the fight?" – she asked between the bites, quiet enough to not disturb anyone except Saber.

"It's for the children," he explained, then shrugged. "They deserve some fun, don't you think? Besides, I told you already - I'm not fighting."

But he couldn't deceive her so easily. Sharp eyes of the King of Knights could see right through him. Arturia had met too many warriors like him, who were burning inside, always struggling. Saber was as prepared to the battle as the rest of them.

"You're not an attacker, rather a protector," she said, turning her gaze back to the screen. The scene with peasants gathering mud turned out to be surprisingly funny, even for her. "This somehow dulls your blade. Unless you find something worth killing for."

"And you think I've found it already?"

"It's rather obvious." She glanced at Illyasviel, squeezed between Iri and her big Servant, like a fluffy little animal. Siegfried did not even try to deny it, only sighed hopelessly and passed to Arturia a wandering plate with chocolate cookies.

Even when the movie ended, they all stayed on the sofa, lazily stretching their limbs, subconsciously trying to make the moment last longer, even if only for few minutes.

Then Kiritsugu appeared at the door, like a ghost of cruel reality.

"It is time," he said and retreated, wrapped in a cloud of cigarette smoke. When Tohsakas left the room, he helped Iri to get up and take few unsteady steps through the corridor.

Lancer and Saber stayed behind for a while to not disturb their Masters' last moments with family.

"It was… enjoyable," Arturia said quietly, breaking the uncomfortable tension in the air. "But it's not nice of you to openly laugh from King Arthur like that."

"We're not. Such movies only show the greatness of your story. Who would have thought they make even parodies of your legend?"

"Hmm." Lancer seemed pleased by such point of view. "I'm just glad no one summoned the Knights Who Say 'Ni' to this war. They would be terrifying adversaries."

Siegfried blinked, then laughed at Lancer's comment. It was probably the first time he heard this extraordinary woman joking.

On the other hand, for her it was the first time to hear Saber laughing like that. _Better_ _late_ _than_ _never_ , she thought with a strange smirk on her usually scary face.

"This is the last goodbye. I'm glad I was able to meet you, Dragon Slayer. You're more than your legend says."

"It was an honor, King of Knights."

They firmly shook their gloved hands. Kiritsugu said nothing, only turned around and pretended he isn't the part of this prolonged spectacle. Irisviel smiled gently to both Servants, then whispered something to Illya. The girl nodded and walked up to her Saber, officially placing herself under his care.

Being too weak to stand, Iri found herself in Kiritsugu's arms, where she turned around to look at the little homunculi girl and her guardian for the last time. Siegfried understood the message in her heartbreaking gaze: Irisviel asked him to remember his promise.

Feeling the small, warm hand of Illya grasping his fingers, Saber knew he will, no matter the cost.

* * *

They were about to get into the car, when the signals from the other side of the river lightened up the sky. It was a clear challenge, a gauntlet thrown down to provoke a knight.

"Master, permission to go first?" – Arturia asked with such force that only a Command Spell could stop her now.

Kiritsugu instinctively reached for a cigarette and nodded. They were about to go all out tonight anyway, so Lancer was free to fight like she wants. Maiya had departed already and it was wise to arrive separately, surround their enemies and surprise them.

"Just be careful and do not let them corner you. You're free to use your Noble Phantasm when and how you want to, Lancer."

Arturia nodded and smiled meaningfully, when she mounted her mare. Llamrei was as ready to spread destruction as her rider.

"I will bring you victory, Master!" It was the last thing the King of Knights said before vanishing from their sight into the night air.

Emiya did not comment it. He only helped exhausted Irisviel get into the car, then turned on the engine.

The streets seemed unusually quiet tonight, like if anything that lives could feel the danger in the air and waited in silence for the conclusion.

"Hey, Iri… Before it's too late, I need to tell you something," Kiritsugu said all of a sudden, when they were crossing the famous red bridge. "I was thinking a lot recently, there was even a moment I wanted to throw it all away, take you, Illya and run away to the end of the world… But I couldn't. Not after so many sacrifices, so many decisions that took us to this point. I wouldn't forgive myself if I did." He shook his head, feeling overwhelmed by the weight of his own words. "Iri. You, of all people, can understand that, right?"

He waited for an answer, a reassurance that what he's going to do is right. For support anyone would need in his situation. For his reason to fight.

But when he looked into the rearview mirror, there was no Irisviel on the backseat anymore, only a simple golden cup, glowing faintly in the overwhelming darkness.

* * *

3, 2, 1… here we go with the ending. Who's going to die first in the next chapter?

I'm wondering if I should end this part of the story in one longer chapter or few shorter ones? What do You think?

Sorry if this chapter felt a bit too melodramatic, but there were things I needed to tell and had no better way to do so.

The movie quoted here is (obviously): "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

Also, please don't ask if I'm alive, because… I can actually not be. I have some serious health problems recently, but I'll do what I can to finish what I started (and to do some new things I promised to write).

Anyway, thank You for being here for so long! I promise there will be at least one serious battle in the next chapter. See You soon!


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